Once More
by ItsHardToFindAPenName
Summary: The Fourth Shinobi World War was over, and Naruto was finally captured by Madara. But is hope truly gone? And what the heck is happening to the Gedo Mazo? Join our favourite blond hero and the nine Tailed Beasts on their great journey to the past! Powerful, but NOT Godlike!Naruto, AU, Accidental!Time Travel.
1. Chapter 1: Back to the Past

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own Naruto, or anything publicly recognizable. **

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 1: Back to the Past<strong>

Everything was dark.

He had failed.

Things were not supposed to become like this. All his training, his friendship with Kurama and all other Tailed Beasts, all the efforts of himself and the whole Shinobi Alliance… They were supposed to win, they were meant to go on, to defeat the mad Uchiha duo and to stop the Juubi from destroying the world!

But yet, despite all those things, they still lost.

Madara Uchiha had won. All of their efforts were wasted. All his friends, all who cared for him were murdered by the wicked power of that revived bastard. And Madara was only short of one more thing to complete the Juubi again and become what he had deceived the poor Obito for a very long time in order to achieve – a god.

Yes, Kurama was still inside Naruto. But not for long. Soon, his newest friend would be ripped off from his body and become a part of that monster Shinju again.

Everything of the few last hours flashed through his mind.

He remembered Kakashi's Sharingan being ripped off his left eye socket as he fell and died under Madara's Susanoo sword. He remembered the souls of the four revived Hokage being pulled away by the shadow clones with Rinnegan. He remembered Hinata and Sakura being impaled by an incredibly sharp root when trying to pull him out of the roots that were restraining him and sucking away his chakra. He remembered Sasuke's Susanoo being shattered and the man himself being vaporized when trying to prevent a combined Tailed Beast Bomb from the Sharingan-controlled Tailed Beasts from hitting a completely exhausted Naruto sprawling on the ground.

Everyone… they sacrificed their lives to protect him, to allow him the chance to destroy Madara once and for all… And he failed them.

He closed his eyes. Maybe if he had just given up from the beginning… this wouldn't have happened…

**"So you decided to just give up like that? It's not like you, Naruto."**

He opened his eyes again. He was in the white room from before, and Kurama and all other Tailed Beasts were standing before him, looking down at him. Normally, he would have asked how they were able to meet again, but right now, it was not important anymore. Nothing was important anymore.

"Why shouldn't I give up? Everyone is gone, Madara has captured all of you. We lost." Naruto sighed heavily, all his energy seemed to be drained.

He was flicked in the forehead by a tentacle of Gyuki.

**"Idiot. We haven't lost yet. Everyone out there is still fighting. Everyone sacrificed their lives because they believe that you shall be able to defeat Madara, not for you to sulk and give up like this. If you, Naruto, of all people, lose hope, there is nothing we can do anymore."**

"But what can I do now? All my friends are gone, the Shinobi Alliance is, or is being destroyed. I don't know what I'm fighting for anymore". With those last words, Naruto collapsed on his knees, and for the first time in many years, he cried. All of his anger, sorrow, regret, despair and pain, everything he held in his heart seemed to have exploded and added to the stream of tears.

**"You know," **Surprisingly, it was Shukaku who raised the voice. It was different from the way Naruto had known the beast for; it was… sane. **"I don't quite understand much about you humans, but to me, if you hate someone, even if I cannot defeat him, I would try my best to make sure that whatever he was planning won't be able to work. I don't like you quite much, but I admired you for daring to stand up against me during that battle in the past. If I hadn't, I would have made Gaara destroy your little village when he finally became Kazekage."**

**"Nice idea, Shuki-chan!" **Chomei chirped in. Even in this situation, the beetle could still keep her cheerful personality. Shukaku shot her a glare of annoyance at the nickname.

"But how can I do it? Madara must have begun Kurama's extraction for quite some time. Now I cannot even move."

Son Goku's eyes gleamed. **"You know that you are not alone in this, right?"**

* * *

><p>"The extraction is nearly completed. Soon, the Juubi, and this world shall be mine to control!" Madara's Rinnegan flashed hungrily when the red chakra of Kurama continuously flown into the mouth of Gedo Mazo. Just a little more time, and his dream shall become true…<p>

Suddenly, the statue, and the ground started to rumble.

"What… What the…" Madara startled, his concentration on the sealing technique faltered. "What's happening?"

Cracks started to appear on the body of the Juubi. From within, lights and chakra could be seen flowing out.

"No… This… This is not supposed to happen…" Madara cried desperately, pumping more of his chakra into the sealing jutsu, but all was in vain; loud booming started to rise from inside the statue, and all of Gedo Mazo's eyes snapped open and it screeched as if it was in excruciating pain.

"Oh shi…"

Then everything went white.

* * *

><p>If there's something Naruto hated so much, it was being woken up suddenly in the middle of the night on an extremely uncomfortable bed.<p>

His whole body was throbbing with pain. That nightmare was too incredibly real. And it's also strange and horrible, too. He could still remember quite clearly about his friends dying, his failure at beating Madara, the Tailed Beasts talking to him and a huge explosion…

He groaned and burrowed his face deeper into the pillow. He didn't want to remind himself about that terrible dream anymore.

…Except there was no pillow at all. He was lying on a pile of straw in a shack, standing in the middle of what seemed to be the forest outside of Konoha. And in his arms was a big papery cylinder thing.

"WHAT THE?" Naruto screamed and jumped out of the makeshift bed he was lying on. Then he realized. "What the hell is wrong with my voice?"

His voice was now exactly what it was when he was twelve.

"Well," he muttered. "Kurama had better have a good explanation for this…"

* * *

><p>"Hey Kurama! What the heck is going on… here…"<p>

Naruto sweatdropped as his eyes stared at the bizarre scene in his mindscape.

Inside the cage was a clusterfuck. As he could count, there were nine heads and a whole bunch of tails… tentacles… goo… wings… whatever... And they seemed to be struggling hard against each other.

**"Hey! Stop pulling my tails!"**

**"Get your tentacles off my butt you perverted ox!"**

**"Ack! Your tail! Your tail! You're strangling me!"**

**"My wings! You're crushing my wings!"**

**"So heavy…"**

If this hadn't been an urgent situation, this would have been a very funny scene.

"WHAT IS HAPPENING HERE? WHY ARE YOU GUYS ALL INSIDE OF ME? AND WHERE ARE WE ANYWAY?" After a while, Naruto had enough. He exploded.

His voice drew the attention of the creatures behind the bars.

**"Ah, Naruto!" **The fox head cried out in relief.** "A little help here, please?"**

Naruto's left eyebrow twitched. "Couldn't you just, like, shrink yourself, or transform into something smaller and easier to get out?"

**"Ah,"** all the heads nodded slowly. **"Good point."**

* * *

><p>After some more struggles, and a huge puff of smoke, Naruto was now sitting on the damp floor of his mindscape, facing all nine Tailed Beasts who were each in the size of a grown up Akamaru.<p>

"So… care to explain?" Naruto looked at the beasts inside the cage.

**"Well… um… it's just a little accident, you see…"** Kurama started.

"What do you mean 'a little accident'?" Naruto asked, raising an eyebrow.

**"Well, you see,"** Kokuoh, the Five-Tails, began. **"You remember that we left quite a lot of our chakra inside you when we bumped our fists, right? Turns out that the more powerful we are, the stronger the chains binding us inside the Juubi's body are. Therefore, when we were absorbed back into that statue, those chains became significantly weaker, and a normal Tailed Beast Bomb was enough to break us free from the binding."**

"I see," Naruto nodded in understanding. "But that doesn't explain why…"

**"I was getting there,"** the Five-Tails stopped him. **"After that we were able to talk with you again, remember? Then, that knucklehead over there,"** he pointed one of his tails towards Goku, who scratched his head sheepishly, **"decided to break us free with another combined Tailed Beast Bomb. I told them it would be dangerous, but sadly, no one listened – except for me and little Saikyo here,"** he rubbed the Six-Tails' head with another tail. **"So we did it anyway, and the Juubi's body was completely obliterated."**

"So the Juubi's body was destroyed," Naruto nodded again. "That's good, right?"

**"Yes… but, well…"** Kokuoh suddenly hesitated. **"You know that the Juubi was the God Tree, the source of all chakra in the world, right? When it was destroyed, all the chakra from inside it exploded in an instant with an extremely powerful force, and it somehow ripped us from that timeline and sent us back to the past. And it also pushed us into the seal in your stomach."**

"Ooh! So that's why I have my twelve-year-old voice, and why I was holding the Forbidden Scroll out there! We were sent back to the day I graduated from the Academy!" Naruto exclaimed in realization. But then, something crossed his mind. "But what about the others? Did they get sent back to the past, too?"

The Tailed Beasts shared a worried and regretful look.

**"Naruto,"** Gyuki said. **"A blast with enough power to send one back to the past will reduce everything to light particles. Not even Madara's strongest Susanoo could survive that explosion. It is incredibly lucky that you have us; otherwise you would have been erased from existence together with Madara and everything else. About the others… I'm afraid there's nothing you can do for them anymore, Naruto."**

Naruto's shoulders slumped. So in the end, it was nothing different. He still couldn't save anyone. He couldn't do anything to protect the people he loved. Tears started to well up in his eyes again, rolling down his cheeks and silently dropping into the already soaking ground.

Then he felt something warm and fluffy wrapping around him. He raised his head, and saw Kurama embracing him with her red tails.

**"It's true Naruto, that you have failed them. But think, if you really feel that bad about it, then this is your chance to redeem yourself. We're in the past, when everything hadn't happened yet. Work hard, and stop Madara from completing his plan in this timeline. Protect everyone you love this time; don't let them die meaninglessly like before. Besides," **she added with a chuckle,** "look around you. This time you are not alone. You have us together with you now, and we are friends. Friends are supposed to help each other, right?"**

**"Right! This time we're with you, Naru-kun! That Madara guy will not be able to ruin the future we create together anymore!" **Chomei added cheerily.

Naruto looked at all the beasts around him, his eyes widened. Everyone of them was looking back at him with trusting and encouraging eyes (Well, except for Saikyo and Chomei; they don't have eyes anyway). A feeling of warmth suddenly bloomed in his heart, and he felt happy, and stronger than ever. He smiled, wiping tears away from his eyes and stood up.

"Thank you everyone. This time, I swear I will not fail!" He raised his hand, and they bumped their fists again, strengthening the bond between them once more.

**"Good job my dear. Now go,"** Kurama pushed her jinchuriki's back. **"There is one person who needs to be saved by you right now."**

When Naruto faded away from their view, Matatabi looked at Kurama.

**"I can't believe even you can become motherly, nee-san."**

**"Heh," **the vixen chuckled. **"Even I can't believe it myself, either."**

* * *

><p>Mizuki was smirking. Right after he finished this annoyance of an Academy teacher, he would go find the demon brat, take the Forbidden Scroll from him and bring him together with it to Orochimaru-sama. Then he would become a Sound ninja, and gain the power and fame he couldn't get being a mere teacher in Konoha!<p>

His train of thought was interrupted rudely when a foot landed on his face, sending him crashing into a tree nearby.

"I'll kill you for hurting Iruka-sensei! Multi Shadow Clone Jutsu!"

Mizuki's eyes widened in horror when the forest was filled, literally, with thousands of Naruto.

"Now, ready to die, bastard?" The army of Naruto grinned wickedly while cracking their knuckles. Mizuki gulped.

"I'm screwed, am I?"

"Yes." The whole army echoed before pummeling the poor traitor to the ground.

* * *

><p>Iruka was appalled seeing Naruto performed a forbidden Ninjutsu in such a large scale. Not only that, the boy didn't even show any sign of fatigue after releasing the jutsu! And he defeated a Chuunin-level shinobi just by himself!<p>

He smiled weakly. _'You have really become strong, Naruto… You might even surpass the Third, no, __**all**__ the past Hokages someday… '_

"Heh heh… Guess I might have overdone it a bit…" Naruto grinned sheepishly, while dragging a mess of flesh and bones called Mizuki along towards Iruka. The older man smiled, and waved him.

"Leave that Naruto. Come here and close your eyes."

This was it. This was the time. Naruto could not ever forget this, even until the last day of his life…

"Congratulation, Naruto. You're officially a Genin of Konohagakure."

Once again in two days (or who knows how many days had passed), Naruto began to cry his heart out, this time on the chest of the older man.

* * *

><p><strong>And that's for chapter 1. This is my first story, and I wanted to see how well it was received.<strong>

**You see, I changed the gender of Saiken, and gave her the name Saikyo. Saikyo, as far as I know, means 'the strongest' in Japanese. And I have a reason for giving her that name. It will be explained in a chapter in the future.**

**And Kurama was extremely OOC. Yeah, I know. But hey, this is fanfiction, right?**

**How was the story so far? If you like it, please let me know :D**


	2. Chapter 2: Back to the Start

**Chapter 2**: **Back to the Start**

"Wow, this photo was quite… good, actually. I almost didn't recognize you in that new outfit."

"Heh, I had to retake it a few times, jiji." Naruto answered the old Hokage with a foxy grin.

He was standing in Konoha's Shinobi Registration Room with Hiruzen Sarutobi, the Third Hokage, and his secretary, after taking the photos for his ID registration. The old man was smiling at him, while stamping the document which contained his CV and the photo.

**_'See Naruto-kun, I told you changing your clothes would be a good thing for you.'_**

_'Yeah yeah, I know. But I still don't like very much. It doesn't have much orange on it, Mata-chan.'_

His face twisted oddly when the two-tailed cat blew a raspberry at him in his mind.

His new attire included a dark blue pair of trousers with orange flame-like stripes at the tip of the cuffs, a pair of fingerless gloves together with two medium-sized steel bangles, and a black sleeveless shirt which hugged tightly around his chest and torso, showing off his rather well-built body. His headband was tied firmly on his forehead.

Naruto didn't notice it, but all the training he had done in the past actually did make his body a sight of attraction to any girls who saw it. Which was none, because he always hid it under the bizarre orange jumpsuit.

**_'That explains why only the Hyuuga girl showed interest in you. X-ray eyes and everything.'_**

_'Aw, shut up.'_

It's all thanks to Matatabi when he first figured out the way to make the beasts appeared out of his body.

* * *

><p><em>(Two days ago)<em>

"You know what, this is kind of boring for you guys, right? My imagination was not quite good, anyway…"

Naruto said while standing together with Kurama in his new mindscape. The dark and dirty sewer ("Ew, is my mind really that dirty?") was gone, replaced by an endless lushful green meadow with a river running across, a range of mountains at the horizon, blue sky with the sun shining brightly, and standing in the middle was a sakura tree which was as big as the Hokage monument. Kurama sighed.

**"This is quite alright. It's much better than staying in that sewer. You know, never before have I got a jinchuriki who bothered to do this for me. I appreciate it."**

She scratched the seal on her neck, which now formed a leather collar with the kanji of "seal" written on it. **"Although it might be better if this was a necklace or something…"**

Naruto looked at the vixen and smiled. After receiving her Yin half back from his father, the fox seemed to mellow out quite a lot.

"Well, but I don't want to leave you guys in here all the time!" he insisted, then pouted. "If only I could do something to let you guys out there for a while…"

**"I think you can, onii-chan."**

The two turned back to see Saikyo standing (well, crawling? Whatever) behind them. The slug seemed to blush a bit when Kurama and Naruto's eyes stared at her.

**"Um… when I was with Utakata-nii-chan, he used this jutsu to bring me out there for a walk, sometimes…"**

"Really? But do you know how to do it, Saikyo?"

**"Well… he just crossed his fingers, and my soul and some of my chakra were pulled out… and I'm outside."**

"Hmm? Cross fingers? Where have I heard it before…"

Naruto's eyes suddenly widened in realization.

"It is the Shadow Clone Jutsu! But…" his eyes squinted, "how can the Shadow Clone Jutsu get you out?"

**"Because the Shadow Clone contains a part of its creator's soul when it is created."**

Naruto jumped. He didn't realized Kokuoh standing next to him since who knew.

**"You see," **Kokuoh explained, **"unlike a normal Clone Jutsu, a shinobi cannot perform tangible Clone Jutsu without some kind of blueprint and catalyst as a base. In the Shadow Clone's case, a part of your own soul is both the blueprint and the catalyst. That part of your soul stays in the clone as it exists, and returns to you when the clone disappears. That's the reason why the clone has a personality, which is yours, takes the form of yourself, and returns its memories and experiences to you when it disperses. Therefore, instead of your soul, if you use another soul and chakra to perform the technique, such as ours, you will be able to send us out as Shadow Clones, and it takes whatever forms we want it to be."**

He stopped, seeing the long face of Naruto.

**"You didn't understand anything, did you?"**

Naruto nodded dumbly. The five-tailed horse facepalmed.

**"Next time, try to simplify your speech," **Kurama chimed in. **"Naruto cannot understand anything longer than fifty words."**

Naruto pouted. "That's so mean…"

* * *

><p>"Tailed Beast Shadow Clone Jutsu!"<p>

Smoke filled the entire room, then dispersed, revealing nine figures standing in front of Naruto. But they were not the Tailed Beasts. At least, not anymore.

Instead, there were five girls and four guys. And they looked **definitely **human to Naruto.

Isobu, Chomei and Matatabi simply chose a form that looked similar to their ex-jinchuriki, albeit with some distinctive features. Isobu's eyes, instead of a blank purple like Yagura's, were brown and spirited, his gray hair was spiky similar to the head of his beast form, and there was no scar on his face. Chomei's hair, instead of mint green like Fu's, had a brilliant saffron shade with some red streak and a pony tail. And Matatabi looked like a twin of Yugito, except for her bright blue hair and a rounder chin.

However, Naruto almost facepalmed when he saw the other Tailed Beasts in their human forms.

Shukaku took the form of a teenage girl with tomboyish sandy hair tied into a ponytail on the back of her head. She wore a sleeveless white top which looked suspiciously like a sport bra, showing off her bare midriff and navel, and a very provoking pair of jeans which couldn't hide anything, just enough to cup her round ass and not make it look like a pair of panties. But with her rather… flat chest, the cute big yellow eyes and the constant scowl on her face which looked suspiciously like a pout, she looked just like a little girl who was trying in vain to become sexy.

Son Goku's form looked like it was ripped off from a certain shounen martial art manga. His hair had the same shade of red as his fur in beast form, but so spiky it seemed to be at the level of impossible. His body was tall and muscular, and he wore a sleeveless orange-and-blue set of martial art gi, showing off his well-built arms, with a blue belt and a pair of boots. But the weirdest thing in his body was a tail behind his butt instead of four, which wrapped around his waist like a furry belt.

Kokuoh's was a middle-aged man with white short hair spiked at the back similar to his horns in his beast form. His outfit was simple: a gray jacket and a pair of khaki trousers, together with a pair of sandals, which looked kind of weird for a know-it-all like him. The truth was, Naruto couldn't look at him without imagining him in a blue suit with a red tie on his neck.

Saikyo appeared in the form of a young girl. Being a slug in beast form, she let her snowy white, ground-touching long hair drop down her forehead as a straight bang, partly hiding her ruby red eyes from view. Her white dress and purple long-sleeved shirt made her already pale skin even paler. She exuded a regal and ladylike aura. It's cute, but somewhat… scary. It's just like she was an eighteen-year-old woman stuffed into the body of a child. And she called him onii-chan. Naruto almost shuddered at the thought.

Gyuki, surprisingly, was the most… normal. He became a tan and bald man with a black, short beard that screamed "badass" and a muscular body that could not be mistaken from a professional wrestling champion. He wore a black sleeveless tight shirt and a pair of black jeans with a pair of sunglasses. On his right arm, extended from his shoulder, was a strange tattoo that looked like a complex sealing array of some sort. Whether that or maybe it's just for decoration, Naruto didn't know.

Finally, Kurama donned the form of a beautiful woman with short pink hair tied into a big ponytail by a blue ribbon behind her head. She wore a sleeve-detached blue-and-black traditional yukata-like dress with no neck and only two pieces of blue cloth covering her front and behind, revealing her white thighs and her rather bountiful cleavage. Her long, smooth legs were hidden under a pair of long blue stocking. And a pair of orange fox ears and a fluffy tail sprouted out of her head and butt.

_Note to self, _Naruto thought, _half of the Tailed Beasts are otaku freaks._

"Wow, it worked better than I thought," Kurama said, rubbing her newly acquired D-cup breasts, giving poor Isobu a nose bleed and a slap on the back of his head by Matatabi.

"So cute!" Chomei squeed like a fangirl, and squeezed Kurama in a crushing glomp, making the foxgirl flailing her arms hysterically. "Ack! Ack! Can't… breathe…"

"Yeah, yeah, that's cute," Matatabi sighed, reaching out her hand to pry Kurama out of Chomei's crushing grip, "but you can't go outside looking like this, nee-san."

"But this looks good on me!" Kurama protested.

"Yeah, yeah, but the ears and tail," the cat girl pointed out while facepalming. Kurama pouted (making Naruto shuddered), snapped her fingers, and the fox ears and tail disappeared.

"By the way Naruto-kun," Matatabi continued. "I won't let you go anywhere with those silly orange clothes on your body." She wagged a finger at him, while her other hand planted firmly on her hip.

Naruto pouted. "But I like orange."

"That will have to change too! I'll not allow my jinchuriki to wear such hideous clothes as long as I'm here!" the cat-turned-human glared at him, not noticing Goku shouting "Hey! Don't diss the orange!" at her back.

"Well, too bad," Naruto shrugged. "It's not like I have any other clothes, anyway."

Matatabi's eyes gleamed dangerously.

Naruto suddenly felt scared. He noticed a similar gleam in Shukaku's, Kurama's, Chomei's and Saikyo's eyes.

"Wh… what…?"

* * *

><p>And that's the reason why Naruto was standing in front of the Third Hokage right now, wearing new outfits that made him almost unrecognizable in the eyes of people who used to know him. He could swear he heard Gama-chan in his pocket crying because of her emptiness.<p>

The first time Naruto saw Sarutobi, he had had to do his best to refrain himself from jumping him and giving him a bone-crushing hug. The man was like a real grandfather to him. He had been the only person in the village, besides Iruka-sensei, Teuchi and Ayame, who hadn't thought of him as a demon and a failure when he was young. And he was the first one to die protecting the village in Naruto's life. The last time Naruto saw him, the old Hokage was a corpse revived by Orochimaru, and he had to watch his soul being ripped off his body right in front of him, without being able to do anything to help. Despite being able to restrain his body, he couldn't help shedding a drop of tears.

"Here Naruto, your registration is completed. Remember to go to your classroom at 8 am tomorrow to hear your team selection, alright?" The Hokage gave Naruto his stamped registration with a smile. He grinned back, and nodded.

Speaking of team selection… It should be right…

"OLD MAN! FIGHT ME! THE HOKAGE SEAT IS MINE TODAY!"

…now.

Konohamaru jumped into the room, shuriken on his hand, and tripped on his scarf.

_'Just like old time…' _Naruto rolled his eyes.

"Ow! That hurt!" Konohamaru whined, while rubbing his bruised forehead. Then he noticed Naruto.

"Hey! You tripped me, didn't you?"

Naruto's left eyebrow twitched.

"You tripped on your own, idiot." He deadpanned.

"Hey! No one talk to me like that!" With that, Konohamaru jumped at Naruto, intending to punch him in the face. But Naruto easily sidestepped the boy, then grabbed his outstretched arm and twisted it to his back.

Right on cue, the teacher of Konohamaru, Ebisu, jumped into the room.

"Hey, let go of him, brat! He is Hokage-sama's grandson!"

Konohamaru glared at Naruto. _Now that he knows who I am, he can't do anything to me… Pfff, he's just the same as everyone…_

But that only made Naruto's eyebrow twitch harder.

"You think I give a damn, moron?!"

CRUNCH

Even after all those year, he still found the whole "Hokage-sama's grandson" thing annoying.

* * *

><p>Naruto held out his right hand, and tried to make a Rasengan. It's worth mentioning that, before the Fourth Shinobi World War, he had finally managed to complete the jutsu, and now he could do it with one hand, just like Jiraiya and his father.<p>

The chakra spun around his palm, focused, and exploded on his face.

"Aaaaarrrrgh!" Naruto screamed when his body was thrown away like a ragdoll and slammed into a tree nearby. "Damn it, what's happening?"

**_'This is gonna be a problem. Hey, Naruto, try to make it with a Shadow Clone like you used to do before.' _**From inside his head, Kurama suggested worriedly. Naruto nodded, and made a Shadow Clone. He started to focus his chakra into his palm, while the clone spun it. It exploded even more violently, sending him and the clone crashing into the tree again.

**_'Oh dear.'_**

_'Kurama! What's happening to me?' _Naruto asked in panic.

**_'I'm sorry Naruto. Your chakra control was completely ruined.' _**The vixen sighed, and Naruto's face twisted into a horror gape.

"What?! How?! WHY!?"he screamed to the sky, scaring a flock of pigeons hiding in a bush nearby, and a certain little boy who was hiding behind a large tree. ("I'm not here!") _'Crap, I said that out loud, didn't I?' _The vixen in his head rolled her eyes, and started to explain.

**_'Naruto, you remember that when you graduated, your chakra control was abysmal, right? Well, I think when we're thrown back to the past, your body was also reverted back to that state. Plus,' _**she added, after a brief thought, **_'now you contain not only me, but all nine of us Tailed Beasts. That means your reserves should be, say, at least nine times larger than you had in the… well, our past. Truth is, I'm surprised that your body didn't explode because of chakra overload.' _**

**_'Must be an Uzumaki thing, I guess,' _**Kokuoh suggested. **_'I heard that the Uzumaki clan was famous for their incredible stamina and life force. Besides, it's not like no one has ever contained all of us before. Did you forget Otou-san?'_**

_'But that means all my skills are down the toilet!'_ Naruto wailed mentally. _'And the bell test of Kakashi-sensei is in two days! What do I do?'_ Anime tears started to pour out of his eyes like two small streams.

**_'Then start training you idiot!' _**Kurama chided him. **_'Don't you realize that you're wasting your time crying? Oh, and someone has been following you for almost an hour.'_**

"Ah, I forgot. Stop hiding and come out here, Konohamaru."

From behind the great tree, the grandson of the Third peeked out.

"As expecting of my Boss! You noticed me right away!" he exclaimed, jumping out of his hiding spot.

"What are you doing here, Konohamaru?" Naruto asked. "Didn't you go back with that Ebisu guy?"

"Nuh-uh! He sucked! You're way cooler than him, Boss!" Konohamaru shook his head. "Hey Boss! Please teach me that Sexy Jutsu you used to defeat the old man!"

Naruto had heard this request before. This time, he couldn't help but broke into laughter.

"Why do you want to learn it? It's just a joke, you know. Honestly, I didn't think the old man was such a pervert," Naruto said after finally calming himself down.

"It doesn't matter! I need to learn it to defeat him!" Konohamaru shouted. "Then I'll become Hokage! If I can do that, everyone will acknowledge me…"

The boy's rant was stopped by Naruto's fingers poking his forehead.

"Idiot. If being Hokage was that easy, everyone would be Hokage. The Hokage hat only belongs to the best shinobi. You don't become Hokage for people to acknowledge you; you become Hokage _because _people acknowledge you! So," he flashed a smile which looked disturbingly similar to that of a certain Green Beast of Konoha, "work hard, and gain everyone's respect first!"

"But that will take too long!" Konohamaru protested. "Besides, Ebisu-sensei didn't teach me anything good!"

"Then you can train with me!" Naruto grinned. "You think there is a shortcut to becoming Hokage? If you want to become one, you have to train your ass out, just like me! Now let's get to training, we don't have all day! Shadow Clone Jutsu!"

Konohamaru's eyes widened when a dozen of Narutos appeared on the training field. Then he grinned.

"Yosh! I'm not gonna lose to you, Boss!"

* * *

><p>"Hey Boss! I finally made it to the branch! Heeheehee"<p>

"Damn it! Even Konohamaru is better than me now!"

BAM! CRASH! CRASH!

"Damn! I still can't get it!" Naruto climbed out of the hole he had made when drilling his face on the dirt after blasting off his tree again. Konohamaru, who was now already on a pretty high branch, laughed.

"Hahaha! I beat you, Boss!"

"Just you wait, brat!" Naruto yelled back. "I'll catch up to you right now!"

* * *

><p>Unknown to the two spirited boys, two pairs of eyes were watching them from afar, at the other side of the training ground.<p>

"Wha… Wha… Wha…" That's Ebisu, who was gaping like an idiot as Naruto was teaching Konohamaru better than he could ever did.

"It's OK, Ebisu. Even I can't believe it, either." And that's the Third Hokage, who was patting the poor Special Jounin's shoulder while frowning.

_There is really something very wrong with Naruto today…_

* * *

><p><strong>And that brings you to the end of Chapter 2.<strong>

**First of all, I would like to thank my readers for the positive reviews of the first chapter. To be honest, I didn't expect my first story to be so well accepted. English is not my first language, so, well, there might be a few mistakes in wording and grammar. **

**Then with the story. In my story, Naruto will become very powerful. Seriously, he is, basically, post-Shippuden Naruto being stuffed inside his 11-year-old body. And how in the world can someone with all nine Bijuu sealed inside his body, with the mindset and experiences of an adult _not _be powerful? But I can assure you, he will not be powerful right at the moment, and it will not be without a cost. Naruto will have to train his ass off not only to gain his old skills back, but also to learn new abilities that his new tenants grant him. So if someone expects Naruto to curbstomp Akatsuki or Madara right away, I'm sorry to disappoint you.**

**Oh, and kudos for anyone who guesses correctly the characters I based Shukaku, Son Goku, Kokuoh, Saikyo, Gyuki and Kurama on :3.**

**See you in the next chapter! **


	3. Chapter 3: Team 7 Again

**Chapter 3: Team 7… Again**

"Hey… Is that… Naruto?"

"No way! When did he become so hot?"

"He looks even better than Sasuke!"

"Pfff! There's no way he could be cooler than Sasuke-kun!... Right?"

Naruto groaned, and slammed his head on the table. _'It's all your fault, Mata-chan! Now I'm going to have fangirls!'_

**_'You have just overestimated yourself there, dude,'_** Gyuki chuckled.

**_'Ugh… fangirls…' _**Naruto could feel Isobu shudder in his mind. **_'They're a nightmare. Remind me of the time Yagura became Mizukage…'_**

_'What? __**Yagura **__had fangirls?' _

**_'Duh! You think he's always the homicidal maniac who wants to destroy bloodlines? Before Madara got a grip on him, he was quite a popular boy. Genius, handsome… Just like the duck-ass over there.'_**

Naruto was in his classroom, waiting for the team assignment. It had been too long since he last sat in this room. Everything was still the same, from the board, the tables to his classmates…

This time, he carefully chose a seat far away from Sasuke. He did not want to experience his "first kiss" once more.

**_'But you liked it~!' _**Kurama sang inside his head. Naruto gagged mentally.

_'Urk! That's disgusting, Kurama! I told you to never remind me of that again!'_

But there was no way his tenants would leave him alone with that.

**_'Ooh, ooh! I almost forgot about this! Is he a good kisser?' _**Chomei chimed in, obviously interested, much to Naruto's horror.

**_'Oh, you don't even know anything…' _**Kurama grinned evilly.

_'Damn you, Kurama!' _Naruto shouted in his mind, while his face reddened in the real world. The five girls in his head giggled.

**_'Sigh… Girls are so troublesome…' _**Goku drawled, and then yelped as Matatabi bonked him on his head.

Speaking of Sasuke…

The boy was sitting at the desk five row down from his, in his "emo mode", as Naruto preferred to call. Looking at him, Naruto's stomach felt twisted up. The images of Sasuke's defect, the battle at the Valley of the End, their meeting at Orochimaru's hideout, the battle at the Samurai Bridge, Sasuke sacrificing himself to protect him from Madara… everything rushed back into his head like a tsunami, and he had to try his best to stop himself from collapsing and bawling like a baby again.

_This time, I won't let that happen. Believe it._

Sasuke seemed to notice Naruto staring at him. He scoffed, and turned away.

The mood was ruined immediately.

_'Hmph! Ungrateful bastard…' _Naruto huffed in his mind, which earned a giggle from the girls inside his head.

Loud stomping noises started to rise from the corridor outside. It must be Sakura and Ino, battling for the seat next to Sasuke… again.

_Three… two… one…_

CRASH!

_… and there they are._

"Ha! I win, pig!" Sakura declared triumphantly, laughing at Ino who was gasping for breath next to her. Both their hair were tattered and their clothes were messed up, maybe because of the catfight when they were in the corridor. But when Sakura saw Sasuke…

"SASUKE-KUN!"

…her hair and clothes went back to their perfect condition in a blink, and she screamed like a banshee.

_'And how did she do that again?'_

**_'Who knows? Maybe some kind of genjutsu, or even magic.'_**

Well, at least this time he didn't receive any of Sakura's monstrous punches, or any kiss from Sasuke.

* * *

><p>"First of all, I want to congratulate you all for passing the graduation exam." Iruka started. "From now on, all of you are shinobi of the Hidden Leaves Village."<p>

A loud round of applause rose up from the students.

"However," Iruka continued, "you are still only 'genin', which is the lowest class of shinobi in the village. You have to perform duties for the village, gather experiences and skills in order to be promoted to higher ranks. So today, you will be assigned into 3-man teams, and each team will have a Jounin sensei. You will follow that sensei's instructions as you complete the missions you are assigned. And now, I will announce the members of each team. Now, Team 1…"

But Naruto didn't hear Iruka anymore. His eyes were sweeping around, catching the image of all his old friends – the Rookie Nine. The ones who had always fought beside him. The ones who had offered their own lives to protect him. The ones whom he always considered his "precious people". And the ones he had failed to protect.

Sakura and Ino were still annoying.

Shikamaru was still lazy. Choji was still munching constantly on his chips.

Kiba was still loud. Shino was still calm and stoic. And Hinata… well, still shy as always.

They're all just like he could remember. As if it was just yesterday, when they were all together, working together on rebuilding the village, fighting besides each other against Obito and Madara…

"Team 7: Naruto Uzumaki, Sakura Haruno, and Sasuke Uchiha. The jonin sensei is Kakashi Hatake. Team 8…"

"Huh? Wha?" Suddenly snapped out of his trance, Naruto looked around in confusion. "Did you say something?"

00000

At the Memorial Stone in Training Ground Seven, a certain silver-haired masked jonin sneezed violently.

00000

Iruka facefaulted. He chose to ignore it, and repeated.

"I said Naruto, you're together with Sasuke and Sakura, and your jonin sensei is Kakashi Hatake. Now, as I was saying before being interrupted by Naruto," he continued, "team 8 consists of Hinata Hyuuga, Kiba Inuzuka and Shino Aburame, and their jonin sensei is Kurenai Yuuhi. Team 9…" he flipped the list over and over. "Now where the hell is team 9 in here? Must be a mistake in numbering… Anyway, team 10 consists of Shikamaru Nara, Choji Akimichi and Ino Yamanaka. Jonin sensei: Asuma Sarutobi."

He closed his list and smiled. "That's all. Once more, congratulation on becoming Genin, everyone. Now why don't you take a lunch break before meeting your Jonin sensei? Dismiss."

"Hey Sasuke, Sakura! Want to have lunch with me?" Naruto said when everyone started to go out for lunch. Sasuke just 'hn'ed and turned away. Sakura gagged in disgust, and ran after Sasuke, leaving the poor Naruto alone in the classroom.

**_'Well, at least you did try.' _**Kurama pacified the boy awkwardly when his head slumped in disappointment.

**_'That bitch! How dare she doing that to Naru-kun!' _**Chomei exclaimed angrily. **_'That no-good, selfish, barbarian Uchiha-loving whore! When I get my hand on her…'_**

_'It's alright Chomei-chan. I know she didn't mean it… mostly. Well, I'll just eat with you guys instead! Want to try some Ichiraku Ramen?' _Naruto grinned, receiving a nod of approval from everyone in his head. But right before he could step out of the classroom, a masked ANBU shunshin'ed right in front of him, and grabbed his hand.

"Genin Uzumaki, the Hokage wants you in his office immediately. I'm instructed to escort you to him."

Naruto was confused. What did jiji want to do with him at this time?

* * *

><p>"Naruto Uzumaki has arrived, Hokage-sama."<p>

"Good job, Neko. Let him in."

Said ANBU opened the door, and pushed Naruto into the room.

"I can walk by myself, you know," he glared back. The ANBU member just stood there quietly, ignoring Naruto's protest.

Sarutobi cleared his throat. Naruto turned back.

"Ah, jiji!" He smiled. "What do you want from… me…" His voice trailed off when he saw two other people in the room. Shikaku Nara and Inoichi Yamanaka.

"Sit, Naruto." The voice of the Hokage seemed harder than usual.

"What's wrong jiji? Did I do something wrong?" Naruto asked worriedly, his eyes darting across Shikaku and Inoichi. "And what are Shikaku-san and Inoichi-san doing here? Oh god, don't tell me you're going to throw me into jail! That painting in the Hokage Monument is just a joke, I swear!" he finished in panic.

The Hokage sighed, and rubbed his nose bridge. "It's nothing like that, I just want to talk to you about something, Naruto." Then his voice hardened again. "Naruto, tell me the truth. What happened to you the last few days?"

"Huh? There's nothing wrong with me!" Naruto lied nervously, hoping the Hokage would catch it. He didn't.

"Naruto, I'm the one who had been taking care of you for 10 years, I know your personality and your abilities just like my own hands," the Professor narrowed his eyes. "The fact that you knew and completed the tree climbing exercise, an exercise meant for a graduated Genin proves that there is something fishy going on. Now tell me Naruto, or I'm afraid I have to force it out of you."

**_'I think you should tell them, Naruto.'_**

_'Huh? Kurama, are you sure?'_

**_'Yeah. I didn't want anyone to know about this, but if we don't tell them now, I'm afraid they will gut you right in place. Just tell them not to mention it to anyone else.'_** Kurama said, thinking about Danzo. **_'I don't think other people would take it so good… At least I can feel these guys are trustworthy.'_**

"Okay…" Naruto sighed in defeat. "I'll tell you. But first, jiji, can you tell everyone in this room to get out and seal it? Oh, Shikaku-san and Inoichi-san can stay," he added when the two men started to protest. The Hokage hesitated, but finally nodded. Three ANBU appeared from their hiding spots and flickered away. After all ANBU were removed from their position, Sarutobi's hands weaved through hand seals, and a barrier was erected, isolating the room from the world outside.

"It's done. Now Naruto, tell us."

"Well… It might sound absurd, but…" Naruto took a deep breath. "I'm from the future."

* * *

><p>"That was the most absurd story I've ever heard in my life."<p>

"I know jiji. Even I couldn't believe it myself when I first heard it."

After Naruto finished his story, the eyebrows of the three older men in the room were twitching like crazy.

"So, let's recap," Inoichi asked with a strained voice. "You fought a man assumed to be Madara Uchiha, got captured, having the Kyuubi extracted from your body, and then somehow all nine Tailed Beasts escaped from their container, squeezed themselves into your body, and pushed you back to the past?"

"He _is _Madara Uchiha, but yeah, that's basically the story." Naruto answered with a nod.

"And you expect us to believe that bullshit?" The older blonde man snapped at Naruto. "Madara Uchiha has been dead for half a century! He was killed by the First Hokage in the battle at the Valley of the End! And there is no way a human body can handle the chakra of all nine Tailed Beasts! And time travel? Oh please, like that can ever happen!"

"But I'm telling the truth! Why don't you guys believe me?" Naruto snapped back, his voice was full of irritation.

**_'Well, even to me, that story was too unbelievable to be the truth.'_**

_'Not helping, Kurama!'_

"Actually, there is a simple way to confirm his identity."

All three other males turned to Shikaku.

"Well, Hokage-sama, you are the one who is closest to Naruto since he was born, right? So just ask him something only you and Naruto know about. If he can answer it right, then he is the real Naruto." The pineapple-head man shrugged lazily.

Silence.

"Tell me again, how the heck didn't I think of something like that?"

"Because it's such a drag." The Nara man shrugged again.

"Okay Naruto," the old Hokage asked, after a sheepish moment. "What did I give you in your 10th birthday?"

"Hm? What did you gave me… hm…" Naruto squinted his eyes, trying to remember. "Oh! I know! That's Gama-chan! I have her right here!" He reached down his weapon pouch and pulled out the toad-shaped wallet. "Oh, and you also gave me exactly 365 free coupons for Ichiraku Ramen! Mmm… free ramen for a year…"

Sarutobi facepalmed. "Yes, he _is _Naruto. Only Naruto could remember the amount of ramen coupons he spends each year."

"But that still doesn't prove what he said was right," Inoichi protested, then insisted. "I request a memory check on him."

"Uh, I don't think that's a good idea…"

**_'Wait, Naru-kun! Just let him do it!' _**The voice of Chomei suddenly rose in Naruto's head.

_'What are you trying to do?' _Naruto asked back warily. There was obviously something not right here.

**_'Oh, you'll see.'_** The beetle chuckled. Evilly. A chill started to creep on Naruto's spine.

_'You're not going to harm him, are you? He's my friend's dad! I'll not allow you guys to harm him!' _Naruto yelled in his mind in panic.

**_'Oh please, we're not going to do anything harmful to him!' _**she snorted back to him. **_'Permanently…'_**

_'I heard that!'_

But Naruto couldn't say anything more, because Inoichi had already had his hand over his head.

After a minute, the man let out a girlish scream and slumped to the ground. All the other men in the room suddenly cringed and felt an intense urge to cover their crotch.

A roar of laughters echoed through Naruto's head.

_'What have you guys done to him?' _Naruto mentally screamed in horror.

**_'Oh nothing,' _**Shukaku answered between snickers. **_'Just gave him the best wedgie I've ever done.'_**

Another roar of laughters.

_'You guys are so cruel.'_

"He… he's telling the truth…" Inoichi gasped out, his voice full of pain and humiliation.

00000

"So it is true that you are now the jinchuriki of all nine Tailed Beasts, huh Naruto?" Sarutobi asked when Inoichi finally managed to stand up, while mumbling about something suspiciously sounding like 'cursed bully demons'. "I assume you can fully control them, right?"

"Well… yeah, but I won't use the word 'control', jiji. They were my friends, my partners, and I will never force them to give me their power against their wills." Naruto chuckled.

**_'Aw, Naru-kun, we love you!'_**

The cringing returned with full force.

"This is a very crucial matter, Naruto," the old Hokage said in a very serious tone. "You do understand that if this piece of information leaks out, there will be wars, don't you?"

Naruto nodded. "Of course I do jiji. That's why I asked you to kick everyone out and seal up the room."

"But why did you let us know? Me and Inoichi, I mean. It's not like we have any close relationship with you before," Shikaku suddenly asked.

"Well," Naruto scratched his head. "It's because I think you two are trustworthy, being the Hokage's tactical advisors and everything. Even Kyuubi thought so. Besides, if you aren't here, then how can I prove to jiji that I'm telling the truth?"

"Still," the old Hokage's voice rose again. "To prevent anything that could happen, I hereby declare everything mentioned in this room today shall be treated as an EX-ranked secret, and everyone who hears about it except for ones in this room today shall be executed on the spot. Am I making myself clear?"

All three other people looked at each other and gulped.

"This is so troublesome…" Shikaku groaned.

* * *

><p>"All right, spill it. What happened to you today, Naruto?"<p>

Said boy snapped one eye open from his meditation, and glared at Sakura in annoyance.

"What do you mean 'what happened to me', Sakura?"

"You know what I'm saying!" the girl screeched. "What's that with all the new clothes and acting cool and everything?"

"Oh?" Naruto quirked an eyebrow. "Then I don't have the right to change my clothes or acting cool?"

"Well, I didn't say that…" Sakura hesitated, taken aback by Naruto's retort.

"Listen up, Sakura," Naruto cut her short in a sharp tone. "I'm not the same Naruto you used to know. I'm sick of always being treated as a failure, a dead last, the laughing stock of everyone. Sure, I might be bad at school, alright, but the world out there isn't the same as what we learned in school! We are shinobi now, our works include stealing, killing, or even fighting to the death. You should also change yourself as well, because when we are at the warzone, no one has the time to protect you!"

Sakura was stunned beyond belief. Since when had Naruto become so… serious? She wanted to retort, but words seemed to choke themselves in her throat.

_'Is what he said true? Being a shinobi is that dangerous? Naruto couldn't be serious… could he?'_

**_'Hmph! Even if there are dangers, Sasuke-kun will protect us! CHA!' _**Inner Sakura screamed inside her head.

Naruto stood up, and kicked the door open.

"Wait! Where are you going?" Sakura asked.

"Training. If this Kakashi is anything like I knew about him, then he's going to be late for at least two more hours." Naruto answered nonchalantly. "Want to join me, Sakura, Sasuke?"

"Hn," was the answer. Naruto shrugged.

"Suit yourself."

**_'Wow, talk about harsh,' _**Matatabi commented when they were out of the classroom.

**_'Actually, I think a talk like that is good for her,'_** Gyuki pondered. **_'She is nothing like the Sakura I knew in our time. If this is really how she is, I wonder how she could become such a good kunoichi.'_**

_'Well, she _did _train a lot during the time I was gone training with Ero-sennin, to be fair,' _Naruto admitted. Then he changed the topic. _'Say, anyone of you want to help me training? I could appreciate some help in getting my old skills back.'_

**_'With pleasure,'_** the Tailed Beasts grinned inside his head.

* * *

><p>Kakashi poked his head into the room, only to meet with two annoyed face looking back at him.<p>

"Hmm? I suppose you are team 7 right? But why are there only two of you?"

Sakura shrugged. "Naruto said he had gone training, but I bet he went to find somewhere to sleep."

Kakashi raised an eyebrow. "That's… quite unexpected. Anyway, meet me at the rooftop in five minutes." Then he poofed away.

"Hn."

* * *

><p>When they arrived at the rooftop, they found a horrifying scene.<p>

Almost all the tiles of the rooftop were cracked or shattered to pieces. One of the water tanks was dented on a side. And lying in the middle of the destroyed roof was Naruto and two of his shadow clones, with their faces full of bruises.

"Wow, so he wasn't kidding when he said he would go training," Sakura muttered.

Kakashi found the scene of destruction in front of him amusing. "You are Naruto, right? Training is good, but next time you should do it in the training ground. You do realize that you have to pay for this damage, do you?"

Naruto lifted his head up when his two shadow clones poofed out of existence. "Ow, my head. Guess I overdid it a little bit… Oh, you must be Kakashi-sensei, right?"

The cyclops gave him an eyesmile. "Yup. Now, let's get to the introduction part. Anyone of you want to go first?"

"Introduction? What do you mean?" Sakura asked, and everyone on the rooftop, including the nine Tailed Beasts, had to refrain from rolling their eyes.

**_'_****This ****_is your kunoichi of the year?' _**Matatabi asked in disbelief.

**_'Trust me, she will be _****much ****_worse,' _** Kurama deadpanned.

_'Hey, that's kind of mean…' _Naruto defended her. All the beasts snorted.

"Well, your name, your likes, dislikes, your dreams for the future and things like that," Kakashi explained.

"Why don't you go first sensei? You look kinda suspicious…" said Sakura warily.

"About me, huh? Hmm…" Kakashi pondered for a while. "Well, my name is Kakashi Hatake. I have no desire to tell you my likes and dislikes. My dreams… hm… and I have lots of hobbies…"

"Yeah. Very helpful, sensei," Naruto snarked. Sakura and Sasuke nodded in agreement.

"Oh? Then how about you going next, blondie?" the jonin quirked his visible eyebrow.

"Sure, whatever," Naruto shrugged. "My name is Naruto Uzumaki. I like ramen, my friends, and the people who cares about me. I dislike liars, traitors and people who want to use my friends to gain power. My dream is to become stronger to protect my friends, and create a peaceful world."

**_'Aw, you're so sweet, Naru-kun!'_**

Naruto cringed. _'Seriously, you have to stop that, Chomei-chan. It's creepy.'_

**_'Aw,' _**the beetle pouted.

Kakashi's eyes widened a bit. This boy was nothing like the Naruto he had known during his time in ANBU. That Naruto was loud, annoying, a knucklehead who always wanted people to notice him. This one was… calm and collected. He wondered what could have changed the boy so much.

And he mentioned his "friends". Kakashi didn't know who they were, but he had a disturbing feeling about that word. He had to mention it to the Hokage somedays.

"You next, broody," he looked at Sasuke. The Uchiha glare back at him.

"My name is Sasuke Uchiha. I hate lots of things. I don't like anything. My ambition is to resurrect my clan and to kill a certain man."

**_'I don't like him, onii-chan,' _**Saikyo said quietly.

**_'No wonder he is such an emo. Obsession with revenge cannot be good for one's health.' _**Matatabi remarked.

_'Yeah. Wondered if this time I can find some way to talk him out of it…'_

_As I thought, an avenger. _Kakashi narrowed his eyes. _This is gonna be trouble if he keeps that attitude… _"Your turn, pinky."

"My name is Haruno Sakura. The thing I like is…" she glanced at Sasuke and squeed. "My dream for the future…" she giggled while blushing. "My hobby is…" she winked at Sasuke, who 'hn'ed. "What I hate is **Naruto,**" she finished in a disgusted voice.

"Aw, I love you too, Sakura-chan," Naruto said sarcastically, which earned him another gag of disgust from Sakura.

_So basically, she liked Sasuke, her dream for the future is to get into his pants, and her hobby is stalking him? _Kakashi thought. _Girls these day are more interested in love than in ninjutsu…_

"Very well, so we all know each other now," Kakashi said. All three genin rolled their eyes. "Tomorrow we'll start with our shinobi duties. But first, we are going to do something with just the four of us. A survival training."

_This is it. The bell test. _Naruto's mind wandered back to the time he got the test before.

"But why is our first duty a training, sensei? We've had enough training at the academy." Sakura protested. Even Sasuke snorted in disapproval.

"Because this training is nothing like what you've ever done before." Kakashi answered, his visible eye seemed to drill into the three genin's heads. They gulped. Yes, even Naruto.

"This survival training is also a test to select the ones who are truly suitable of becoming genin," Kakashi continued. "Of the 27 graduated candidates, only 9 shall be chosen to become genin, and the rest shall be sent back to the academy. This training is a very difficult exam with a failure rate of over 66%!"

Sakura paled. Sasuke didn't show any clear emotion, but beads of sweat could be seen clearly on his temples. Naruto, having known about this before, just sat there in silence.

"The details are on this paper," Kakashi pulled some leaflets out of his shuriken pouch and gave the three genin. "Anyway, we'll start at 6 tomorrow at Training Ground 7. And don't eat breakfast, you'll just throw up."

Then he flickered away, leaving the three genin on the roof.

_So tomorrow is the bell test. This time I'll show Kakashi-sensei I'm not a useless dead last anymore!_

**_'Yeah, you will. But what are you going to do with the mess you made here?'_**

Naruto looked at the almost destroyed rooftop, and groaned.

* * *

><p><strong>Definition: EX-rank <strong>

**The highest in the ranking system, surpassing even the S-rank that Kage-level shinobis hold. It defines something that cannot be estimated through ranks alone. In the whole history of the Elemental Country, there is only one person that can be considered an EX-rank shinobi: The Sage of Six Path.**

**An EX-rank secret is considered a secret that cannot be exposed to anyone, except for the people who was told of it before it is declared EX-rank. The people who know the secret shall be forced to sign a Blood Oath, an invention of the First Hokage. From those people, one will be chosen as a Secret Keeper, and only that person has the right to reveal the secret to other people. Others who reveal the secret to anyone else, intentionally or forced, will die immediately before the secret is exposed, and their bodies, including the brain, will be destroyed automatically.**

* * *

><p><strong>Aaaand... Chapter 3 is done!<strong>

**To tell the truth, I'm not very satisfied with this chapter. It is basically similar to canon, just with some differences in Naruto's characteristics. No change in the teams. I want to keep them as close to canon as possible. There will be some changes in their personalities later, though, but that's in the future :3**

**And in this chapter, Naruto started to show his 'mature' side. After what he suffered in his timeline, we cannot expect him staying a kid forever. Experiences make differences. He will still be the goofy and unpredictable Naruto we all know and love, but he will not be the loudmouthed idiot he was in the past.**

**Oh, and Happy Lunar New Year everyone!**


	4. Chapter 4: The Bell Test Once More!

**Chapter 4: The Bell Test... Once More!**

Naruto arrived at Training Ground 7 at eight, only to find Sakura and Sasuke, whose faces looked like zombies, glaring at him.

"Where the heck have you been, you idiot?" Sakura growled.

"Ichiraku's, of course," Naruto answered. "You don't expect me to go to war with an empty stomach, do you?"

"Kakashi-sensei told us not to have breakfast!" she screeched. "And we're not going to war; this is just a training session!"

"Well, the 'no breakfast' part was not mentioned in the leaflet he gave us, right?" Naruto shrugged. "Besides, he said this training was a test. I don't know about you, but I need my body at the top level before taking any test."

Hearing that, Sakura didn't ask anymore. She just sat down and rubbed her growling stomach, trying her best to calm it down.

"Here."

She raised her head and widened her eyes when she saw a meat bun in front of her face.

"Eat up. I don't have much money, so I could only buy these. It's not much, but still better than an empty stomach, right?" Naruto grinned while throwing another one to Sasuke. "You didn't have breakfast too, did you? Eat up!"

Sasuke scowled. "I don't need your pity."

"Oh come on, this is not the time for empty pride," Naruto snorted. "If Kakashi-sensei is anything like I've heard about him, then we must throw everything we have at him if we want to have a chance against him."

Those words finally got Sasuke's attention. "What do you know about him?" he demanded.

"Well," Naruto started, "Kakashi-sensei was well known all over the Elemental Countries as 'Kakashi of the Sharingan' due to the fact that he has a Sharingan hidden under his hitai-ate," Sasuke's body stiffened against this information, "and he had used it to copy over a thousand jutsu of his enemies. He is one of the very famous shinobi who brought victory to the Leaf in the Third Great Shinobi World War, together with the Fourth Hokage himself."

"No way," Sakura gasped. "Our sensei is that strong?"

"But how did he have the Sharingan? He's not an Uchiha," Sasuke questioned.

"Dunno," Naruto shrugged. He felt that it's better not to tell Sasuke about Obito yet. "But we can already tell that Kakashi-sensei is not someone we can afford to underestimate."

Sasuke didn't say anything for a while. Then, he grabbed the bun and devoured it in one gulp.

* * *

><p>"Sorry guys, I got lost on the road of life."<p>

Naruto deadpanned when his teacher arrived at the training ground at 9.

"You know, that was the lamest excuse I've ever heard in my life, sensei."

And by that, he meant 'still the lamest excuse'.

"Is that so?" Kakashi raised his visible eyebrow. "Then I promise next time you won't hear it anymore."

"You're not gonna be late again?" Sakura asked hopefully.

"No, I'll make a different excuse," the cyclops eyesmiled.

The three genin groaned.

"You have until noon to take these bells from me," Kakashi started while pulling out an alarm clock and two small bells. "Those who cannot get a bell by noon get no lunch, and will be tied to one of those stumps while I and your teammates eat right in front of you. And the one who doesn't have a bell fails, and will be sent back to the Academy."

"But sensei, in the pamphlet you said that we're allowed to use weapons. Isn't that dangerous?" Sakura asked.

"Oh, you won't be able to touch me if you don't come at me with intent to kill," the jonin waved her off. "Now, start when I say…"

With a flick of his hand, five shuriken flew from Naruto's place towards Kakashi. Then without any pause, Naruto pulled a kunai out from his shuriken pouch…

…only for his arm to be bent around, the point of the kunai aimed at his neck.

"Hasty, eh?" the voice of Kakashi rose behind him. "I haven't said 'start' yet."

_Too fast, _Sasuke and Sakura couldn't help sharing the same thought. _I can't even see him moving._

_Just like old time, _Naruto grinned. "You'd better look at your back, sensei."

The tip of another kunai touched the back of Kakashi's flak jacket.

"You used the shuriken as a distraction not only to pull out a kunai, but also to create a shadow clone to ambush me," Kakashi said with an eye smile. "Pretty clever, I must say. Well then, now it's time to start."

He burst into smoke, and the genin leaped away from the clearing.

* * *

><p><strong><em>'I don't understand what you're thinking anymore, Naruto.'<em>**

_'Oh, chill out, Kurama. It's been a long time since I last challenged Kakashi-sensei. Besides, Sakura and Sasuke need a little time to figure out the meaning of the test, right?'_

**_'Then why don't you just tell them already?' _**the vixen asked. Naruto grinned.

_'Because it's no fun!' _Kurama face-pawed.

"Hey Kakashi-sensei, I challenge you!"

Kakashi lifted his eye from his Icha-Icha Paradise. "Well, aren't you a little bit off?"

Naruto didn't say anything. He lowered his body into his taijutsu stance.

00000

_(Flashback)_

_"Ow! How did you even do that?" Naruto screamed, holding his bruised left eye after receiving a vicious punch from Goku._

_"Your problem lies on your fighting stance, Naruto." The ape in his human form answered, surprisingly calmly comparing to his usual loud voice. "Your battle style is just like that of a brawler, only consists of attacking blindly while leaving you with a lot of dangerous openings and no way to defend yourself if your opponent counterattacks."_

_"But I've defeated many powerful enemies with that style!" Naruto protested with a pout._

**_'And you were nearly dead in most of the cases,' _**_Kurama chided from inside his head. __**'Do I need to list them out? Having your body impaled by hundreds of ice needles, letting a fourth of your tenketsu sealed, your heart being damaged to the point that even I and that Tsunade lady together almost failed to repair…'**_

_"Alright alright! I get it!" Naruto growled in frustration. "So what can I do now? It's not like I have the time to think of a new style!"_

_Goku scratched his cheek. "I don't think I can teach you a completely new style in only one day, but I think you can try this…"_

_(End flashback)_

00000

With a kick to the ground, Naruto launched himself towards Kakashi like a bullet. He threw a flurry of punches and kicks at Kakashi; but the jonin blocked every hit with only one hand.

_He was fast… but attacking recklessly like this won't do him any good._

_'Damn it…' _Naruto thought when breaking away from Kakashi. _'He's too good!'_

**_'Remember Naruto, Kakashi was not a jonin in name only.' _**Kurama said.

_**'You're lucky he didn't just punch your head off,' **_Goku dryly noted.

_'Right. Attacking directly is out of the question… time to try some new thing.'_

He threw another quick punch at Kakashi's chest, only for the jonin to stop it with his empty hand easily.

"Is that all you got? How disappointing."

Poor Kakashi. He didn't take his eye off his Icha-Icha Paradise, so he couldn't expect Naruto to quickly grab hold of his wrist mid-punch.

"What the…?"

With a loud cry, Naruto pulled the restrained arm towards him and elbowed Kakashi on the stomach. With his other hand holding his precious Icha-Icha, Kakashi couldn't do anything to block the incoming attack in point blank range. The hit almost knocked the air out of Kakashi's lungs.

_'Hey, it worked!'_

**_'I told you.'_**

The sudden attack also proved to be quite a distraction as a shadow clone of Naruto rushed in from behind and tried to grab the bells on his belt.

_Damn!_

With a quick spin, Kakashi kicked the clone, making it dispersed and threw the real Naruto away a few feet. The genin landed on his feet, and grinned.

"How's that, sensei? So shocked you cannot even speak a word?"

_He turned my strong point into a weak point, and exploited it so well he could land a hit on me while using it as a distraction, _Kakashi thought, _reckless, but quite effective. Naruto really is full of surprises._

"I'm surprised. I must admit, I've underestimated you," Kakashi said, snapping his book closed. "It seems I can't keep reading Icha-Icha while fighting you." And he put the book back into his shuriken pouch.

"Finally decided to play seriously, huh? Then let's see how good you really are, sensei!"

Kicking the ground again, Naruto once more closed the distance between them and launched another punch at Kakashi. The older man immediately caught it, and also blocked the other punch aiming at him from the left.

"One trick won't work twice, Naruto."

"Oh yeah? Then how about this?"

Locking Kakashi's hands with his own, Naruto focused chakra to his feet and released it, using the force to flip over Kakashi's head like jumping from a spring. On the air, he spun, and delivered a rolling kick to the jonin's head.

_Still haven't quite got it yet… But this is enough!_

"You're going down!"

SLAM!

The Kakashi in front of him exploded into splinter.

"What the? Substitution?"

"Shinobi lesson number one: Taijutsu."

"Huh?"

Naruto turned his head, and saw Kakashi behind him, his eye gleaming.

"Hidden Leaf Secret Taijutsu: One Thousand Years of Death!"

Being on the air, Naruto had no way to avoid the deadly fingers of the Cyclops aiming at his ass, and was propelled into the stream nearby.

Just like old time.

"Daaaaaaammmmmnnnnn iiiiiiiittttttttt!"

**_'And that's a lesson for you,' _**Goku choked out while everyone in Naruto's head were busy laughing their asses off. **_'Never use an airborne attack when you cannot make sure you get a hit.'_**

_'All those time… and I still get struck by that stupid technique,' _Naruto growled. _'But I'm not done yet!'_

Three shuriken flew out of the water aiming at Kakashi, but he only tilted his head lazily to the side, and the three throwing stars only struck the tree behind him.

With a battle cry, Naruto burst out of the water.

"You think I'm out of trick yet? Think again!" Naruto rushed towards his teacher, and aimed a low sweep at his leg. "Take this!"

"I said it won't work." Kakashi chided him while jumping up to avoid the kick. But Naruto just smiled.

"Gotcha! Shadow Clone Jutsu!"

Two clones appeared on the air. One launched a punch at Kakashi's midriff and the other aimed a kick at his head. Naruto smirked.

"Ha! On the air you cannot evade! I've learnt that from you!"

"I cannot evade… but I can strike back!" Kakashi answered calmly, kicked the two clones away and sent himself backward a bit.

Unfortunately, he didn't see the faint smirk on Naruto's face.

Kakashi was suddenly grabbed from behind by three pairs of arms. One grabbed his back, one restrained his arms, and one locked his legs.

_No way, _Kakashi' visible eye widened in horror, _the shuriken from before… they're shadow clones?_

"The bells are mine!" Naruto shouted triumphantly, leaping at the jonin who was now bound helplessly to the ground by his three clones…

…only to crash into a log, proof of Kakashi's substitution.

"Oh man! Substitution again? No fair!"

There was no sign of Kakashi on the clearing anymore.

* * *

><p>Sakura was speechless.<p>

_No way… How can Naruto be so good? He almost got Kakashi-sensei!_

"Looking for someone, Sakura?"

The girl screamed and jumped back when the voice of Kakashi rose next to her ears.

"Shinobi lesson number two: Genjutsu." And the man faded away in a storm of cherry blossom petals.

After a minute, Sakura's mouth foamed, and she fainted.

"Okay, that was anticlimactic."

* * *

><p>Sasuke was angry.<p>

Naruto, the loser, had fought Kakashi Hatake, their jonin sensei, the man who was known as "Kakashi of the Sharingan", according to him, to a stand still. Somehow, that dead last even seemed to have forced the jonin to run away.

Since when had that loser become so strong?

Then maybe, that Kakashi might not even be as strong as Naruto had said… If that dead last could hold his own against the jonin, there's no way himself, the Rookie of the Year, an Uchiha, couldn't do it.

He jumped down from the tree he was hiding, facing Kakashi on the clearing.

"So the mighty Uchiha finally came down to face me," Kakashi drawled. "Such an honor."

"You're weak," Sasuke snidely remarked. "Couldn't even beat a dead last like Naruto."

"Oh? But can you do anything better than him?" Kakashi eyesmiled.

The question seemed to touch Sasuke's ego. He snarled.

"I'm nothing like those losers."

"You can only say that after you get the bell." Kakashi said, the bells on his belt rang as if taunting Sasuke.

Without another word, Sasuke sent three shuriken at Kakashi. And just like with Naruto, the jonin easily sidestepped the projectile weapons. The shuriken flew past the jonin, cutting the rope hidden behind him, and a bunch of knives were launched in the direction of the older man.

_Hidden trap… Good idea, but not enough._

Kakashi jumped aside, and the knives lodged themselves on the bark of a tree behind him. Sasuke took the cue and jumped towards the retreating man, and delivered a kick on Kakashi's head.

The jonin blocked the kick easily with his arm.

"You know, Naruto did try this, and failed."

"Don't compare me to that dead last!" Sasuke yelled, and using Kakashi's blocking arm as a mount, he spun and delivered an axe-kick towards Kakashi's face, upside-down. The bells were right in front of him; he lashed out his hand, trying to grab them…

Only for Kakashi to grab his extending arm and throw him away like a ragdoll.

Sasuke's back slammed into a tree. He grunted in pain, struggling to get up.

_Damn it…_

"It seems the last Uchiha is not as powerful as rumored," Kakashi taunted, and Sasuke snapped. Weaving his hands through familiar hand signs, he performed the jutsu the Uchiha clan was famous for.

"Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!"

A huge ball of fire blasted out of his mouth, aiming at Kakashi who seemed to be too shocked that a genin could perform such a chakra-wasting technique to avoid it.

Sasuke smirked when the raging inferno engulfed the jonin.

The flame died down, leaving… nothing. Not a charred corpse, not a burning flak jacket, not a jonin rolling around in flame… nothing.

_He's gone… but… where…?_

"Shinobi lesson number three: Ninjutsu."

Sasuke couldn't even turn his head around when a pair of hand grabbed his legs and pulled him underground.

"Well, the last Uchiha really was head above the others," Kakashi said sarcastically, walking away.

_Damn it… the difference in power was too much… _Sasuke gritted his teeth while glaring at the jonin's back, which was getting farther and farther away.

* * *

><p>"Hey, Sakura… Sakura, wake up!"<p>

Sakura groggily opened her eyes, and saw Naruto kneeling right above her face. She screamed and punched the boy on the chest, making him stumbled back a bit.

"Whawhawha…. What the hell did you do you pervert!?" She demanded, her finger pointed shakily at Naruto, who was now wincing and rubbing his chest.

"Just want to wake you up, princess. There's only one hour left until the deadline."

Sakura's eyes widened.

One hour left. There's no way she could get a bell from Kakashi-sensei with only that amount of time. It meant she would be sent back to the academy, and she wouldn't be with her Sasuke-kun anymore.

"Then what… what can I do…" she stammered, tears started welling up in the corner of her eyes.

"We'll think about it later. I have some suspicion, but it will have to wait until we dig Sasuke up."

* * *

><p>"I said I don't need your pity," Sasuke scowled again when Sakura and Naruto finally dug him up from his burial hole.<p>

"Will you just spare me your dramatic brooding, Sasuke?" Naruto snapped. "If you don't pull that huge stick out of your ass soon, it will some day get you killed, maybe even before your so-called ambition comes true."

"It's not a so-called ambition!" Sasuke protested angrily. Naruto ignored him.

"You said that you have some suspicion about the test, right Naruto?" Sakura asked. Since Naruto gave her the donut in the morning, she had felt a new strain of respect towards the blond boy.

"Well… I don't know if it's true, but I suspect the true meaning of this test is not whether we get a bell or not." Naruto stated, while scratching his cheek.

Both Sakura and Sasuke's eyes narrowed.

"What do you mean? Kakashi-sensei said that we need to get the bells from him," asked Sakura.

"And how in the world can we do it?" Naruto asked back. "We're all newly-graduated genin, our skill and experience in combat is nothing compared to a jonin like him. This makes no sense at all. They'd never set a task that didn't have a solution."

"I nearly got it last time," Sasuke denied stubbornly. "The next time I'll get it for sure."

"Like that's gonna happen," Naruto snorted. "Did you realize that during your fight Kakashi-sensei almost didn't use any damaging move?"

Sasuke's eyes widened. He gritted his teeth, and nodded reluctantly.

"But you almost got the bell too," Sakura blinked. Naruto shook his head.

"That's only because I caught him off guard with my Shadow Clone jutsu. I'm sure if I didn't know the jutsu, I would suffer even worse than Sasuke. And he won't fall for that trick again."

"Wait a second," Sakura said slowly. "Maybe you're right. Maybe each of us does not stand a chance against him… but if we work together, just like you did with your clones, we can catch him off guard…" Then she frowned. "But that can't be right… There're only two bells… unless sensei wants to trick us into believing that we have to fight each other…"

**_'Took her long enough to realize it,' _**said Chomei snarkily in Naruto's head.

Silence filled the air as everyone, no, Sasuke and Sakura digested this.

Finally, it was Sasuke who commented.

"That does make some sense. But even if we work together, there is little chance that we'll be able to overpower him. Even Naruto couldn't do it with his clones before. We need a clear and thorough plan for it to work."

Naruto sighed in relief. He had thought Sasuke would be too stubborn to listen to any of his words. He smiled.

"Yeah. And to do that, I think we should know what each of us can do. Right now what I can do is taijutsu and Shadow Clone. What about you Sakura?"

"Well," Sakura scratched her cheek. "I can do the three basic academy jutsu quite well, my taijutsu was adequate, and I can use some simple genjutsu too, but cannot maintain them for a long time. And I have to touch him for the genjutsu to work. I still cannot cast them effectively from afar."

"And you have your monstrous punches," Naruto added helpfully.

"What did you say?" Sakura screeched hysterically, and threw another punch at him. Naruto ducked, and the fist hit the tree behind him, making the bark flying everywhere. Her eyes widened.

"See," Naruto gave her a foxy grin. "I wasn't kidding." Sakura grumbled unhappily.

"And I'm good at taijutsu, shurikenjutsu and some Fire Style ninjutsu," Sasuke concluded. "Very well, I got a plan…"

* * *

><p>"Prepare to hand over the bells, Kakashi-sensei!"<p>

Kakashi lifted his eyes off his book. "You again? Haven't you learnt anything since the last time?"

"It will be different!" Naruto grinned confidently, his index finger pointing at Kakashi. "This time we got a plan that will surely take you down! Shadow Clone Jutsu!"

_We? _Kakashi thought when the Naruto clones charged him and unleashed a relentless barrage of punches and kicks. Just like before, Kakashi easily blocked all the attacks, but there was something that didn't seem right. Naruto's attack was different from before: reckless and full of opening. Could it be…

"Fire Style: Phoenix Flower Jutsu!"

A blizzard of fireballs appeared in the sky above the jonin and rained down his head, intending to set the whole clearing on fire. Kakashi's visible eye narrowed.

_So Naruto did convince Sasuke to work with him?_

Kakashi spun, kicking all the Naruto clones away, and he flashed through a series of hand signs.

"Wind Style: Great Breakthrough!"

The wind technique blew the fireballs away, revealing… a rain of kunai and shuriken hidden inside the fireballs.

_Shit!_

Pulling out a kunai himself, Kakashi quickly deflected the deadly weapons falling down at him. In about five seconds, the clearing was littered with shuriken and kunai. Wasting no time, Naruto rushed in with his clones, and started attacking Kakashi with his own taijutsu again.

"I told you, this will not work," Kakashi stated when fending off the relentless attack of the boy.

"We don't need it to work," Naruto grinned, "because we already won!"

The punches of Naruto and the clones suddenly turned to grapples, locking Kakashi's hands in place.

_Just like before? Then I will just repeat what I did… _Kakashi silently melded his chakra, readying himself for a Kawarimi…

Only for a bone-shattering punch to land on his back.

Kakashi's eye widened. He was pushed into the weapon field at what moment he couldn't know, and Sakura was right next to him, her fist cocking back.

_What the…?_

"SHANNARO!"

With her favorite battle cry, Sakura launched another devastating punch at Kakashi's exposing back. At the same time, her free hand reached out at the bells on his belt.

_Using substitution to switch with a shuriken on the field and trying to grab the bells when the boys distract me with their jutsu… _Kakashi chuckled under his mask. _They actually figured it out. This team has great potential… if they are able to pass! _

Kakashi spun, and used the momentum to throw Naruto at Sakura. The blond boy slammed hard into the poor girl and fell on the ground.

Kakashi glanced at his belt. The bells were still there. Good.

Right on cue, the ringing from the bell on the alarm clock echoed through the field.

"Well, what do you know," Kakashi said in amusement. "Time's up. And you three didn't get any bell."

"Who said we didn't get any bell, sensei?" The voice of Sakura rose from the human pile. She pushed himself up, and lifted her hand.

She was holding two bells.

"What the… When did you…?" Kakashi looked down in panic. The bells, which were both on his belt just a few seconds before, had gone.

"Right at the time Sakura's punch connected with your back, she put you in a simple genjutsu to trick you into seeing the bells still being on your belt," Sasuke, who was walking out from his hiding place in the woods nearby, explained with a smirk. "And she only had to swipe the real ones from there when you were still thinking that you got us."

"Very good Sakura, you got the bells," Kakashi sighed in defeat. "And I must say, the teamwork of you three during that last attack was, by far, one of the most impressive I've ever seen in a genin team. You even landed a clean hit on me, which no team had ever managed to do before. But now you have two bells, Sakura, so which of your teammates will you choose to pass with you?"

"Hell yeah! Of course I will choose…"

But Sakura faltered when she looked at Naruto.

She hated to admit it, but during this test, the one who did the most was Naruto. He was the one who gave both of them their missed breakfast in the morning. He was the one who faced Kakashi-sensei first. And without Naruto, they could never have figured out the true meaning of the test. If there was anyone who deserved to pass the test the most, it would surely be Naruto.

Meanwhile, the only thing she managed to do was fainting. If she and Sasuke passed the test and Naruto didn't… it would not be fair for him.

But if Naruto passed… it would mean either her or Sasuke failed. Sakura's hand trembled on the thought. She couldn't decide it. Of course she couldn't let her Sasuke-kun failed. But she didn't want Naruto to fail, either. Should she just be a heartless ungrateful bitch and kick Naruto out of the team, or abandon her dream and let Naruto and Sasuke fulfill theirs?

"If you cannot decide, then I will!"

Sakura jerked when Naruto plucked the two bells out of her hand.

"Hey!" she protested.

Naruto split the bells, and threw each of them to Sakura and Sasuke, shocking all the other three people in the training ground.

"Now each of you has a bell. Guess I'll go back to the academy, then."

"But… why?" Sakura stammered in shock. She couldn't understand why the blond did that.

Naruto gave her his trademark foxy grin.

"Well, I have failed the graduation exam three times, so I guess a fourth time would not be that bad. And who knows? Maybe this time I can even be Rookie of the Year with my Shadow Clone Jutsu!"

Guilt twisted Sakura's stomach. Naruto was giving himself up just for her and Sasuke to pass…

Images of the times she did horrible things to him flashed through her mind.

"Then I will go back to the academy too."

"Huh?" Naruto blinked.

"During the test I couldn't do anything but fainting, and without you I could never figure out the trick of the test," Sakura inhaled sharply, and continued. "If there is anyone who doesn't deserve to pass this test, it is me."

Silence filled the air again. And finally, Sasuke said.

"If it comes to that, then it means I shall go back too, right? There cannot be a team with only one member."

Kakashi couldn't help but smiled under his mask. _He managed to change both Sakura and Sasuke in such a short time… You really are the most surprising shinobi of the Leaf, Naruto._

"So that's it, huh?" Naruto stretched his back, and yawned. "Well then, do you guys want to go to Ichiraku's with me? This time I'll treat!"

"Really," Sakura chided him. "Is the only food you know in this world ramen, Naruto?"

"Hey, it's delicious!" Naruto defended his favorite cuisine. Sasuke just 'hn'ed.

"Where do you think you're going?" The voice of Kakashi suddenly rose behind them. "I haven't announced the result of the test yet."

The three genin stopped on their trail.

"I hereby announce Team 7… passed the test!"

* * *

><p><strong>AN: That's all for the bell test. ****Naruto, with his infamous "Talk no Jutsu", has finally managed to gain respect from Sakura and Sasuke!**

**Again, thanks everyone for all your positive reviews.**

**About Sakura, in my opinion, I don't believe that she was completely useless at the start of the series. In fact, if you take a look at her match against Ino during the Chuunin Exam, you can see her send Ino flying a few meters with a punch. To be fair, Sakura is not weak; it's just her infatuation with Sasuke that makes her a worthless fangirl in canon. So in my story, I decided to buff her up a little bit. **

**And I have to apologize in advance if I couldn't update the story regularly. **

**So then, until next time, please rate and review!**


	5. Chapter 5: Secret of the Massacre

**Over 1000 visitors already! Yay!**

**Disclaimer again: I do not own Naruto. That honor belongs to Masashi Kishimoto.**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 5: Secret of the Massacre<strong>

Naruto was snoring very happily.

Hey, it can't be helped that the bed in his newly-acquired Namikaze Estate was astoundingly comfortable. The bed in his old apartment was no match for this heaven.

And for how he acquired it… Pfft, Naruto might be a little bit slow, but he definitely isn't a fool. He already knew who his parents were, damn it! So it's just a matter of asking the old man, and this comfy little house was his.

Sure, it's not a huge luxury mansion, or a whole clan ground like the Uchiha's, but hey, it's still his house, his inheritance! It's much better than the trash called his old apartment.

"Hey, Naruto, wake up."

So it was natural that the voice of the man standing at the end of the bed didn't even seem to reach his ears.

"On the count of three, if you don't wake up, there will be trouble."

Naruto just mumbled sleepily.

"Don't say I didn't warn you."

And a bucket of **very **cold water was dumped unceremoniously on his head.

"#!$% &^*$! WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT FOR YOU BASTARD!" Naruto bolted right up, a barrage of profanities shot out of his mouth, making Matatabi blushed, Shukaku giggling like mad and Kokuoh clapping his hands around Saikyo's ears, making the girl puff her cheeks angrily.

Then he looked out of the window.

"WHAT THE #%^$#%#! THE SUN ISN'T EVEN UP!"

Shukaku, Isobu, Goku, Kokuoh and Chomei just grinned cheekily.

"Nature manipulation training coming up! Now get your ass out of that bed, unless you want to take a bath again!"

Naruto groaned. That was the price for having all five nature chakra affinities, and a bunch of drill sergeants in the form of the Tailed Beasts living together with you.

* * *

><p><em>(Flashback)<em>

_Naruto approached Kakashi at Training Ground 7. Kokuoh had told him to ask Kakashi to check his nature affinity._

_'But why do I have to do that? I have wind as my nature,'_ _Naruto asked in confusion._

**_'Well, I just want to check if my suspicion was right,'_**_the horse answered. __**'Come on, it won't hurt to know.'**_

_'Well… but asking that out of the blue may make Kakashi-sensei suspicious… Oh, I know!'_

_"Hey Kakashi-sensei! Can you teach me how to use Fire jutsu like Sasuke, please?"_

_Kakashi lifted his eye off his book. "Nature manipulation is an advanced skill, Naruto. Why do you want to learn it so soon?"_

_"Well, I cannot do anything else except for taijutsu and shadow clones spamming," Naruto shrugged. That was the truth though; the more destructive techniques of him were all unavailable at the moment. "So I would like to, you know, improve my arsenal a bit. After all, Sasuke can do it, and he is a genin just like me."_

_"I guess that's true," Kakashi admitted. He rummaged through his shuriken pouch and pulled out a piece of chakra paper. "But first we have to check what your affinity is. Channel your chakra into this piece of paper and we will know."_

_Naruto received the paper, and channeled his chakra into it._

_The paper was shredded into exactly one hundred little square pieces. Twenty five of them were burnt into ash, twenty five crumbled to dust, twenty five turned into small balls of paper, and twenty five were soaking wet._

_Kakashi dropped his book._

_"So… what kind of affinity do I have, sensei?"_

_(End flashback)_

* * *

><p>Three hours later, the five Tailed Beasts returned, dragging behind them an unconscious Naruto.<p>

"Let me guess," Kurama sighed, rubbing her temples. "He overloaded his mind with shadow clones again?"

"Yeah," Kokuoh admitted. "I've warned him that using too many shadow clones in training would be dangerous, but noooooo, he just didn't listen."

"So… how many clones did he use?"

"Over nine thousand," sighed Kokuoh.

Gyuki, who was in the middle of drinking, spat all the water in his mouth at Goku's face, who was, unfortunately, sitting in front of him.

"What? Nine thousand? There's no way that can be right…"

Then he saw Kurama's face. "…can it?"

Kurama shook her head. "He is _Naruto_, you know."

"But… but that doesn't even make sense!" the oxtopus man sputtered. "I know his signature jutsu is the Shadow Clone, but how in the world did his brain survive after all those memory backlashes? And there is no way the backyard of this house could hold such an absurd number of people at the same time! It's just like, the whole population of Kumogakure!"

Kurama rubbed her temples again. "Behind the house was a forest. And remember, with Naruto, there is no such thing called 'making sense' in his dictionary."

In front of them, the mess which was Naruto started to twitch.

"Ugh… what hit me?" Naruto groaned, pushing himself up from the ground.

"Ah, he's awake." Isobu noted. "That was quite fast. I thought he would have been in a coma for at least a week."

"Naruto," Kokuoh looked at his eyes and said in a serious tone. "Training is good, but overexerting yourself like that is intolerable. From now on, I will only allow you to use one hundred clones at most during training."

"What?" Naruto protested. "But that is not fair! I can create even more than I did today! Why should I restrain myself like that?"

"Remember Naruto, when a clone is dispelled, its memories and experiences will be transferred back to the original," the horse man lectured. "If it was just one or two clones, or even ten, it would be fine, but the memory backlash of thousands of clones is not something to joke about. You saw what happen when you dispelled all those clones at the same time. To a normal person, it might cause a shock to the whole nervous system, his body might stop functioning properly, and in the worst case, he dies. That is the reason why the Second Hokage declared that jutsu a forbidden one right after he invented it, and only the small-scale version of it is common among shinobi."

"But that will take too long for me to learn things!" Naruto pouted.

Now you're being hypocritical there, Naruto.

"Don't worry Naruto-kun. Training in nature manipulation is not something you can do in just a few hours," Matatabi said, while putting a huge pot of potato soup on the table. "I still remember when Yugito trained her fire element, she needed half a month before she could create a proper fireball."

"Actually, I was able to do it."

Matatabi stopped dead on her path. "Eh?"

"Yeah, already got the wind element done; it is just a matter of memory. I also managed to wet half a leaf, and made another one breaking apart," Naruto mumbled. "But when I tried burning a leaf, it just dried up a bit before returning to normal. And I can't seem to get lightning at all. It just doesn't feel… right."

Gyuki and Matatabi were appalled. During their almost eternal life, they had never heard of anyone who could do nature manipulation in just a few hours.

"That's also our impressions when we first saw it," Shukaku said dryly. Goku, Chomei and Isobu nodded in agreement. "Either this boy was a genius, or a complete idiot. Only someone without anything in his head could absorb knowledge that fast."

"Hey!"

"I'm not surprised," Kurama commented. "After all, you're my jinchuriki." A hint of pride could be heard in her voice.

"You like him~! How cute!" Chomei cooed.

Kurama's face became beet red. "I-I'm not!"

"Someone's in denial~" Chomei said in a sing-song voice while running away from her sister, laughing like mad. Kurama snarled and leaped, intending to choke the breath out of the beetle girl's lung.

"You'll never catch me!"

"Don't push your luck, bug!"

Two black spheres appeared on Kurama's hands. Naruto was startled; if she used that attack inside the house…

Two tentacles made of plants suddenly burst into the room, wrapping around the two girls' bodies and tying them up.

"Sis, how many times do I have to tell you not to fight inside the house?"

It was Saikyo who had just arrived from the kitchen, holding ten bowls on her hands. Massive killing intent was leaking furiously from her, and the air in the room suddenly felt like freezing.

And she was smiling. Sweetly. Too sweetly. To the point of disturbing.

"Let's cool your head down a little, shall we?"

Kurama and Chomei shook their head frantically, their body quivered, and for the first time, Naruto could see an expression he never thought he would see on the two Tailed Beast girls' faces.

**Fear.**

Saikyo put the bowls she was holding on the table, and walked out of the house through the backdoor. The two wicked tentacles pulled the two struggling girls out of the room, and a minute later, wailing screams filled the air.

"No way," Naruto muttered in his breath. "Since when has Saikyo-chan been so scary?"

"Trust me, you haven't seen everything yet," Gyuki mumbled in the same tone, his face paled in utter horror. Naruto gulped.

After a few minutes, Kurama and Chomei dragged themselves into the house. Their faces were full of bruises, and lumps could be seen on their heads.

"S-so, let's get to breakfast, okay everyone? The food is getting cold," Matatabi said, trying to break the awkward moment. Everyone nodded, still a little bit shaken, and got in the table.

"Wow, this is so delicious!" Naruto tasted a spoon of his soup, and his eyes widened. "Did you make this, Matatabi?"

"Actually, it's Saikyo who made it," the cat girl answered. "Honestly, I don't know where she learnt how to cook; Tailed Beasts usually do not need to eat."

"Um… Utakata-nii-chan was an awesome cook…" the slug girl said with a shy smile. "He taught me how to cook in our free time, so… Mine can't even compare to what he could do…"

"Are you kidding me?" Naruto exclaimed in disbelief. "This is the best food I've ever had, besides Ichiraku Ramen! You're so awesome, Saikyo-chan!"

The white haired girl blushed hard.

Seriously, what's with girls and changing attitude like flipping a book?

Naruto's second bowl was devoured as quickly as the first one.

* * *

><p><strong><em>'Do you really think that will work, Naruto?' <em>**Kurama asked anxiously.

_'I've thought about it for a while,' _Naruto answered. _'He will have to know about it, sooner or later. And I think it's better if he knows about it right now, when he is still sane and thoughtful, rather than later when Orochimaru messes his mind up with the curse mark, or when Obito pumps into his head his load of bias images.'_

**_'Wow. I can't believe you, of all people, could think as a strategist.'_**

Naruto pouted. _'Hey, I'm not that bad!'_

The blond jinchuriki had arrived at the Hokage Tower. He knocked at the door of the Hokage's room, and a 'Come in' was heard from inside.

"Ah, Naruto," the old Hokage greeted him with a smile. "How do you like your new house?"

"Awesome, jiji!" Naruto smiled back. "I've never slept in anything so comfortable before!" Then his smile disappeared, replaced by a serious expression. "Hey jiji, I want to talk to you about something. It is very important."

"Oh?" Sarutobi raised an eyebrow. "And what could that be?"

"The Uchiha massacre," Naruto said shortly.

The old Hokage stiffened. Then he looked at the corners of the room.

"Neko, Inu, Hitsuji, you're dismissed."

The air in the corners shimmered a bit, then became quiet and still again. Sarutobi weaved through hand seals, activating the privacy barrier of the room again. Then he turned back to Naruto.

"I trust you know what really happened during the Massacre in your timeline, right Naruto?"

Naruto nodded.

"Of course I did," he stated. "But I think there is no way Itachi could do that alone. I suspect that there must at least be someone else who helped him at that night."

The Hokage's eyes narrowed. "And why do you think that?"

"Chakra, of course," Naruto shrugged. "I've faced Itachi some times before, and even in his prime, he didn't have enough chakra to use his Mangekyo Sharingan techniques too much. Hell, as far as I remember, a clone with a third of his chakra couldn't use the Mangekyo at all. So how in the world did Itachi murder a whole clan with hundreds of people, all equipped with the Sharingan, and some were jonin, ANBU or even Hokage candidate alone when he was just, well, fifteen or something like that?"

Sarutobi sighed. The Naruto of the future was incredibly sharp.

"All right Naruto. The truth is…"

* * *

><p>After hearing the story from the Hokage, Naruto's body trembled like crazy.<p>

Not from fear, but from rage.

It was nothing like the story Obito, or even Itachi, told him in his timeline.

"So that means you have known about this for three years…" Naruto gritted his teeth, "…and didn't bother to tell Sasuke a word?"

Sarutobi nodded solemnly. "The council was against it. Besides, I fear that if Sasuke knew, he would go mad from the revelation…"

"You _fear_?" Naruto's voice was now full of anger and disbelief. "And you prefer other people planting lies into his head and making him even crazier? During my time, he was mind-fucked by Itachi _twice_, then marked with a cursed seal by Orochimaru, making his head even more of a mess, and was finally told a version of the story without _all _the important facts, which made him an even more deranged person who tried to destroy the village to 'purify the name of the Uchiha clan'! All because there was no one who told him the whole truth about that incident! And you think that is better for him?"

Sarutobi sat there, horror-struck. He hadn't even thought that his hiding the truth could affect the mind of the Uchiha loner that much.

Naruto stood up. "I'm leaving, jiji. I hope you understand what you have to do right now. If you don't do it, I will, because I don't want to lose one of my friends to madness and hatred. Not this time. Release the barrier."

That was a command. The old man complied dumbly, while staring at the back of the blond boy who was retreating from his office.

Never before had he felt so old and weak.

And something inside the man snapped.

"ANBU!" He barked, and an ANBU member flicked into the room.

"Go find Jiraiya," Sarutobi gritted his teeth, "and bring him to my office immediately without delay."

He would not allow this to prolong any further. The Will of Fire shall burn once more.

* * *

><p>Sasuke was surprised to see the Hokage, together with a white-haired old man he didn't know, standing at his door.<p>

"What do you want?" he scowled.

The Hokage didn't smile. "Sasuke, we want to talk to you about the Uchiha Massacre."

"I don't want to talk about it," snarled Sasuke, trying to slam his door closed, but Sarutobi stopped his hand.

"Trust me, the information I bring here might completely change your view about the whole incident, and even about Itachi, your brother."

Sasuke's eyes narrowed upon hearing the name. Then, after a few seconds, he said.

"Come in."

* * *

><p>"So what is the information you want me to hear?" Sasuke snapped rudely.<p>

Sarutobi and Jiraiya sat down at the table. "First, I want to introduce you to Jiraiya. He's one of the Legendary Sannin, and is the head of Hidden Leaf's spy network."

Sasuke just glared at the white-haired man, and nodded.

"Now, before we start, I want to ask you," the Hokage continued. "Do you know about the Kyuubi's attack on Konoha ten years ago?"

Sasuke was confused. What was of that story related to his clan's massacre?

"I don't see any-"

"Just tell me, Sasuke," the Hokage cut him short with a sharp glare. Sasuke gulped, and answered.

"Yes, I do. The Kyuubi suddenly appeared in the outskirt of the village in October 10 and started attacking the village for no reason. The Fourth Hokage killed it, and lost his life in the process."

"That is the story you've learnt at the Academy," Sarutobi nodded. "But the truth is, there actually _was _a reason for the attack. During that night, there was one person who sneaked into the village, released the Kyuubi from its jinchuriki, and used it to attack the village."

"What is a jinchuriki?" Sasuke questioned.

"The container of the beast," Jiraiya answered. "The Kyuubi has been sealed inside jinchurikis of Konoha for three generations."

"As I was saying," the old Hokage continued, "at that night, a person sneaked into the house of the jinchuriki, attacked her while she was giving birth and killed her midwife, as well as my wife Biwako Sarutobi, before breaking the seal, unleashing the Kyuubi and taking control of it to attack Konoha. There were evidences of usage of the Sharingan on the beast that night."

The old man placed a few photos on the table. In the photos were the image of a nine-tailed fox, and its eyes were in the familiar three-tomoe shape of a fully matured Sharingan.

Sasuke was stunned.

"Do you know who the first person taking control of the Kyuubi in history was, Sasuke?" Jiraiya suddenly asked. Sasuke nodded.

"Yes. From what I know, the first person who gained complete control over the Kyuubi was Madara… Uchiha…"

Then his eyes widened in realization. "So that's it, huh?" he snarled. "You destroyed the Uchiha clan to prevent the Kyuubi incident from happening again?"

Sarutobi raised his hand. "Please let us finish before you raise your idea."

That was just a simple request, but the power and authority hidden inside was the most incredible thing Sasuke had ever felt. He gritted his teeth, but complied.

"The problem here was not the fact that the attacker that night was an Uchiha with the Sharingan, but was that the Uchiha clan didn't do anything to help defending the village during the attack. One of the greatest clan in Konohagakure, with over two hundred potential shinobi still in rotation, and none of them showed up to report during the night of the attack. It's just like they had wanted the Kyuubi to weaken the village's defense. Connecting all the evidences, we couldn't help suspecting that there was something fishy going on within the Uchiha clan. Therefore, I had established a secret investigation on the clan, and this is the result."

The Toad Sage pulled out a scroll from his shuriken pouch and put it on the table in front of Sasuke. Quietly, the boy opened the scroll, and his eyes widened.

"No way… My clan planned to overthrow the Hokage, and taking over the village?" he muttered in shock.

"I'm afraid they did, Sasuke. And it seems they had planned and prepared for this since the night the Kyuubi attacked the village, during which the Uchiha clan members were absent from the Uchiha clan ground," the Hokage nodded gravely. "And the night of the massacre is the estimated date of breakout of the coup. According to the Constitution of Konohagakure, attempting coup d'état is an action that might cause wars and thus shall be executed for treason against the village."

"But why did you use Itachi for your dirty work?! Why Itachi? Because of you, Itachi had been forced to murder the whole clan! _His_ _own _clan! Do you know what it feels to have your own family murdered right in front of you? Not to mention he had to do it _himself_! Do you understand how that hurts?" Sasuke screamed in rage.

"I understand what you want to say, Sasuke, but I haven't finished yet," Sarutobi shook his head. "It's true that Itachi accepted the mission voluntarily, but that was where everything went wrong. The true mission of Itachi was not killing the entire Uchiha clan."

"What do you mean?" Sasuke gritted his teeth. The old Hokage pulled out another scroll.

"See it for yourself, Sasuke."

Sasuke snatched the scroll from the old man's hand and ripped it open. Then he almost dropped it because of his shaken hand.

**_Mission: Assassination_**

**_Rank: S_**

**_Reason: Attempting coup d'état on Konohagakure's government_**

**_Target:_**

**_Fugaku Uchiha_**

**_Hikaku Uchiha_**

**_Inabi Uchiha_**

**_Yashiro Uchiha_**

**_Tekka Uchiha_**

**_Tadama Uchiha_**

**_Sayuri Uchiha_**

_…_

Many names were written in the scroll, but not the name of every member of the clan, as far as Sasuke knew. The date in the scroll was the day of the massacre, and the signature at the bottom of the scroll was written, very clearly, in the familiar and unmistakable handwriting of Itachi Uchiha, with a fingerprint of him next to it.

Sasuke's lips were cold and numb.

"But… but this is…" he stammered in shock.

"It is, Sasuke," the Hokage nodded. "This is the official documentation of that mission, signed by Itachi himself. That mission was issued for secret execution of only the ringleaders of the coup."

"Then… when he told me that he murdered my clan to measure his capacity…"

"He was lying," the Hokage nodded. "He must have thought the betrayal of the Uchiha clan would be too much of a shock for a boy who was proud of the clan like you, Sasuke."

"Then WHY DID HE KILL EVEN MY MOTHER!? SHE DIDN'T DO ANYTHING! SHE IS NOT EVEN ON THE LIST! AND HOW COULD YOU KNOW THAT ITACHI DIDN'T GO MAD AND KILLED OTHER PEOPLE IN THE CLAN?!" Sasuke screamed, tears started to form at the corner of his eyes. Sarutobi shook his head.

"I'm afraid I don't know anything about your mother, Sasuke. But I'm sure that the one who killed all the other members of the clan was not Itachi. Take a look at these pictures."

He tossed some more photos on the table. "This is the photos captured from the forensic investigation on the corpses of some members of the Uchiha clan. You have learnt about weapons at the Academy, so you can see that the wounds are too big and shallow for a tanto or a kunai, and the cuts were very clean. Therefore, the murder weapon was not Itachi's tanto, but a very sharp kama enhanced with wind element chakra to broaden and sharpen the blade. Itachi cannot use neither a kama nor wind element, so we can conclude that it wasn't him who committed the massacre of the Uchiha clan. At least, not the whole clan."

Sasuke's mind was on the verge of breaking. "But… then why did Itachi run away from home and become a missing-nin…?"

"That is not something which can be discussed at the moment," Jiraiya interrupted when Sarutobi started speaking. "However, I can assure you that the decision of leaving the village is of Itachi himself. He came to the Hokage and requested banishment right after the massacre. I think it was to protect you, Sasuke, because together with that, Itachi also requested absolute protection of you from those who want to use you as a breeding stock, and those who want to use you as a weapon of Konoha."

The weight of the truth finally became too much for Sasuke's brain to handle. With an ear-piercing scream, he collapsed on his chair and started to sob uncontrollably, the world seemingly collapsed in his eyes.

Jiraiya started to rise from his chair, but Sarutobi put one hand on his shoulder to stop him. The old man looked into Sasuke's empty eyes, and said.

"Sasuke, I don't know if you understand this, but Itachi is a person who cherishes peace more than most things in the world. If the coup d'état had broken out, not only Konohagakure would have been put in grave danger, but the whole world might also have fallen into another Shinobi World War, and many innocent lives should have been wasted on meaningless battles. Itachi understood that, and he didn't want you or your friends, or any other citizen of Konohagakure to suffer that horrible fate, so he chose the best thing he could do to protect you and many other people."

He paused a bit, and continued.

"This might feel like an insult to you, Sasuke, but I have to say that one of the Uchiha clan's fatal flaws is their superiority complex. Madara, one of the founders of the village, has always dreamt of gaining control over the village since he and his clan joined force with the First Hokage, just because he believed that he had the power of the ultimate Sharingan. Even before the village was established, people in the Uchiha family had always waged war with other clans just to prove that they are the most powerful, and that they have the right to dominate everyone. Just think of what their nonstop boasting of power had made them into. Remember that, and choose your own way carefully, Sasuke. Now if you excuse me, I must leave."

With those last words, the Hokage stood up, glanced at Jiraiya, and the two men left the house, leaving Sasuke alone with his own thoughts.

When they were outside of the Uchiha clan estates, Jiraiya asked. "Do you really think that is okay, sensei?"

Sarutobi answered solemnly. "I don't know Jiraiya, I really don't know."

_I hope you are right about this, Naruto…_

* * *

><p>Sasuke sat, alone, in the darkness.<p>

He thought about what the Third Hokage and Jiraiya had said to him. He didn't want to believe it. His clan, the Uchiha clan, had been the pride of Konohagakure since the village was born. How could they suddenly decide to betray the village just like that? But all those decisive evidences all pointed out towards that only possibility… Despite how much he tried to deny it, the truth was still there, clear and conclusive.

He thought about his father. He had always wanted the man to tell him that he was his son, and to tell him to improve himself to soar to great heights. He had always wanted to be like his father, to become a powerful and talented shinobi like him, to follow his footstep…

But did he want to be like him anymore?

He thought about Itachi. For so long had he thought of the man as a mass murderer, and he had sworn on his life to become an avenger to make him pay for what he had done to the clan. And suddenly, Itachi turned out to be a peace-loving man who sacrificed himself and his family to prevent a war from breaking out.

Memories of that fateful night rushed back to him. He remembered a figure on top of the power pole, watching him as he ran back home from the academy. He remembered Itachi standing over the corpses of his parents, his tanto dripping with blood. He remembered facing the man on the street, his eyes morphing into the Mangekyo Sharingan…

And he remembered in that night, Itachi's face had been full of tears.

Blinded by revenge, he had never even stop to consider thinking what that meant.

Sasuke stood up. The sun was already half down the mountains afar, and the sky was turning red.

"Just wait for me Itachi," he mouthed quietly. "Someday I will find you, and you will tell me the whole truth. With your own mouth."

* * *

><p><strong>AN: And Chapter 5 is done.**

****You can see that in my story, I decided to twist the 'curse of hatred' thing a little bit. Together with that, I added some changes to the coup d'état and the massacre, too. I think it would make more sense.****

****Ah, the over 9000 joke will never get old. And for anyone who was wondering, no, Gyuki is not Nappa. He just channels him for the lulz.****

****And the breakfast scene might sound silly, I admit. The truth is, I'm not very good at writing everyday life scene.****

****And for someone who asked me abot Naruto's fighting style in the last chapter: In my opinion, Naruto is always fighting as a brawler. The Frog Kata can only be used by a Sage who has access to nature chakra, which enhances his speed, reflex, strength and durability to an extreme level. Because of that, users of Frog Kata usually don't need to defend much; they just have to avoid hits with their buffed reflex and speed, as far as I understand. Basically, no Frog Kata without nature chakra. Because of that, it is understandable that Naruto had to return to brawling, which is basically how Naruto prefers to fight. ****  
><strong>******

****See you on the next chapter! Until then, please review!****


	6. Chapter 6: D-ranks and Training

**Chapter 6: D-ranks and Training**

"Why did you tell the Uchiha boy about that without asking us, Sarutobi?"

Koharu Utatane slammed her hands on the table in front of the Hokage in rage, making the paper on it flying everywhere. The old Hokage just threw her a sharp glare.

"And tell me, why _should _I ask you about what I am going to do to one of my shinobi, Koharu?"

"We are the council advisors!" the old hag screeched not unlike a certain pink-haired kunoichi. "We have the right to know…"

Killing intent suddenly filled the room. The two advisors slumped down on the ground in fear, choking on their spit when Sarutobi stood up, his eyes glued at their faces with a menacing glare as if he was out for their blood.

"Listen up you," the old man growled. "You may be the council advisors, but **I **am the **Hokage**. This is a shinobi village, and I hold absolute power over all shinobi and kunoichi in this village, including **you**! What I decide to do with my shinobi is not of your competence to interfere. **Understand?**"

Koharu and Homura nodded shakily. They understood that, despite being an old coot just like them, Hiruzen Sarutobi was not known as the third God of Shinobi for nothing.

"ANBU!" the Hokage barked. "Get these two meatbags out of my office!"

Behind the door, Danzo Shimura cursed in his mind. He didn't expect the old monkey Sarutobi to make a come back like this. Because of this, his plan to take over the Hokage seat in the near future would be much harder to bring into action.

But no matter… He still had other ideas in mind…

* * *

><p>"Kakashi-sensei is late again."<p>

Sakura tapped her foot on the ground in annoyance. Naruto sighed, shaking his head.

"Well, he _is _Kakashi-sensei after all. We shouldn't have listened to him."

This was the fourth time said sensei was late in a team meeting. He said that they would begin their first mission that morning.

But seriously, who in their right mind would issue missions for them at _5 freaking a.m._?

"Damn that Kakashi," Sasuke grumbled. "Luckily I'm used to waking up early…"

"Well, going back home now is just silly," Naruto started. "How about sparring until Kakashi-sensei arrives? I'm getting itchy for a good fight."

Sakura hesitated. "Uh… I don't think doing that before a mission is a good idea…"

"Very well," Sasuke cut in. "I also want to see how strong you really are."

After the bell test, everyone in Team 7 had seen Naruto in a different eye.

Naruto grinned. "Sweet! So how about you and Sakura team up against me?"

Sakura raised an eyebrow. "Huh? Two against one? What makes you so confident?"

Naruto deadpanned, then crossed his fingers. A shadow clone appeared next to him in a puff of smoke. Sakura groaned. "Right, say no more."

"Then let's get started," Sasuke declared with a smirk. Naruto grinned back at him.

"Bring it on."

* * *

><p>"Hey you three, I was going to come here at 5, but a black cat crossed…"<p>

"ORYAAAAA!"

Kakashi had to jump out of the way when a shadow clone of Naruto was thrown straight at his face.

"Heh, you're actually quite good, Naruto," Sasuke grinned between heavy breathes.

"What did I tell you?" Naruto grinned back. There was no sign of fatigue on his body. "I'm just that awesome."

Then they charged at each other again.

Next to them, Sakura was out cold on the ground. Her face was full of bruises, and her left eye sported a brilliantly purple shade.

Kakashi sighed. He knew that it's time to stop the two boys.

"Alright, you two. It's time for our mission..."

Sasuke finally collapsed on the ground, drained out.

"Damn it, Naruto," he panted in exhaustion. "Do you ever get tired in your life?"

"Heh heh, no," Naruto answered with a smile. "People didn't call me a walking tank of stamina for nothing."

"Hey, don't ignore me…"

"Ow, my head…" Sakura woke up with a groan. "Do you really have to punch me that hard, Naruto?"

Naruto scratched his head sheepishly. "Sorry Sakura, but if I hadn't done that, you would have drilled me to the ground with your own punches. But really, I didn't think a punch like that could knock you out."

"Well, sorry for not being a stamina freak like you!" Sakura retorted.

An ominous aura of depression suddenly covered the training field, making the three genin turn their heads. The source of it was Kakashi, who was now sulking on the ground, a rain cloud floating over his head.

"My cute little genin are ignoring me…"

"What's wrong with him?" Sakura raised an eyebrow.

"Nah, just let him be. He'll get better," Naruto answered with a shrug.

* * *

><p>"All right, so today you'll officially start your shinobi career," Kakashi said with a voice full of authority. "What we're doing today is something incredible. It concerns the life of citizens of Konohagakure. It is the fear of all generations of shinobi, in all ranks, of all ages."<p>

"So what is it?" Sasuke asked. He was starting to feel irritated.

Kakashi gave him an eye smile.

"D-rank missions."

Unfortunately for Kakashi, he focused too much on Sasuke to notice Naruto's evil grin.

* * *

><p>Tora the Cat, the pet of the Fire Daimyo's wife, the terror of every shinobi in Konohagakure, was running on the village street.<p>

She had escaped from that horrible excuse of a master, again.

It's just too easy to find an opening from that fat woman, and she only needed a precise scratch and quick feet to find freedom.

Today, she heard that another new team of genin was sent to capture her.

She had escaped over a thousand genin. No shinobi in the village had ever captured her without their face being scratched badly. Two days ago, a team of new genin had also been sent, and she had completely ruined their faces before resigning herself to the jonin that was with them.

So why should she be afraid of another bunch of snot-nosed brats?

Oooh, but she didn't know that this bunch of snot-nosed brats was completely different from any other bunches of snot-nosed brats.

Especially when that bunch of snot-nosed brats consisted of one Naruto Uzumaki.

From the _future._

Like people say, curiosity killed the cat. And Naruto had applied that very well to this case.

The poor cat never knew what hit her.

* * *

><p>"Forty five minutes. Wow, this is a new record. Never before has a team completed the infamous 'Capturing Tora' mission in less than one hour."<p>

"Well, what can you say?" Naruto smirked. "We're just that awesome."

"However, Team 7 shall be banned from this mission from now on." The Third Hokage continued without missing a beat.

"What? Why?!" Naruto wailed dramatically. Sasuke snorted.

"Do you even have to ask? Remember what you did to that cat."

"I have to agree, Naruto," Kakashi chimed in. "Tying the target up with five rolls of ninja wire and a sticky net, showering it with a mixture of paint, jam, water, glue, alcohol and mud, then throwing it into a barrel of tar and feather and dragging it on the ground all the way to the Hokage Tower is too overkill for a cat, you know."

"That's right Naruto," the Hokage nodded. "As effective as it is, we want to return Madam Shijimi's pet alive, not as a corpse covered in whatever you threw at her."

"It's a demon cat. It'll live," Naruto shrugged.

**_'Now that was too mean of you, Naruto-kun,' _**Matatabi said inside his head. Naruto raised an eyebrow. **_'What? I'm a cat too!'_**

"And seriously, how in the world did you have the time to set all those traps?" Sakura asked incredulously. "It's like, let's see, twenty traps in total! In just about ten minutes!"

"Nah, it's nothing comparing to the time I snuck into the ANBU headquarter to spray glue into the masks of ANBU members," Naruto waved his hand absently.

The air in the room suddenly became freezing cold.

"Did you really say what I think you did, Naruto?" Kakashi turned back to him and gave him a disturbingly sweet eye smile. Naruto, realizing what he had just said, smiled nervously.

"Ah… that… well, you see…"

"Excuse me Hokage-sama," Kakashi grabbed his shoulder, the disturbing eye smile never left his face. "I and my cute little student here are going to have a special student-teacher bonding moment."

Naruto gulped.

* * *

><p>One hour later, Naruto returned to Training Ground Seven, with Kakashi right next to him. His whole body was full of bruises and scratches.<p>

"What happened to you?" Sasuke raised an eyebrow. Naruto just mumbled something incoherent in his mouth.

"Ah, nice weather," Kakashi said with another eye smile. He seemed very cheerful. Too cheerful, I might say. "Now as we have completed the mission today so fast with the help of Naruto here," Naruto just grumbled unhappily, "I think it's time for some training. Are you ready, my genin?"

No one raised an objection. Or maybe it's because Naruto's jaw hurt so much he couldn't even speak properly yet.

Come to think of it, Naruto was a training freak, so nah, he probably wouldn't mind anyway.

"Gee, thanks a lot, author."

You're welcome. And please, don't break the fourth wall.

"Very well. Today I will teach you how to climb a tree."

Kakashi stopped when he saw the faces of Sasuke and Sakura.

"What? Is something wrong?"

"Uh, but climbing a tree is not hard. We can do it already," Sakura blinked.

"Oh? But do you know how to do it like this?"

With those words, Kakashi walked towards a tree, and started walking up the trunk. He continued to walk until he reached a pretty high branch.

"I can do it," Naruto raised his hand from below, making Kakashi nearly fall off the branch.

"Really? Demonstrate, then," he ordered, after managing to retain his balance on the branch. Naruto nodded, and started walking up another tree nearby, until he reached a branch as high as Kakashi's.

"Where did you learn that?" Sasuke demanded, getting upset as the dead last knew something he didn't know.

"Oh, I saw someone did that before, and decided to ask them how to do it," Naruto shrugged. "I've just completed it a few days ago. It turns out to be an effective technique to run away from people chasing me, you know."

Hearing that, Sasuke didn't push further. Actually, he himself had seen people in his clan doing things like that many times before. He cursed himself mentally for not asking Itachi or his father how to do it.

Sakura was also surprised, though not very much. After witnessing what Naruto had done during the bell test, she understood that Naruto had been hiding many things from everybody. Therefore, if Naruto had known some techniques before her, it wouldn't have been a strange thing anyway.

But Kakashi was the most upset. Being a jonin, he knew exactly what the greatest problem of Naruto was. And when he said 'people chasing me', he understood it as 'mobs chasing after me to kill the demon'. Being Naruto's secret guardian for a long time, he couldn't help feeling guilty about letting the boy suffer like that. Now, listening to the boy talking about that like some daily routine, the guilt started to bubble up again in his heart. He felt that in some way, he had failed Minato-sensei. He had failed to protect his teacher's son, failed to give the boy a better life when he didn't have the love of his parents.

"But why do we have to learn this?" Finally, after a few seconds, Sasuke spoke up. "I mean, it just looks like some fancy way to travel. It does not seem to help anything in battle."

"Ah, I was going to explain that," Kakashi answered. "Now, how about you try to do it first, Sasuke? Channel chakra to your feet, and run up the trunk."

Sasuke stared at him incredulously, but then nodded and did as he was told. He smirked when his feet planted firm on the tree trunk. He took one step, then two steps. But at the third one, the bark crumbled under his feet, and Sasuke fell down the tree. His face connected to the ground with a sickening 'thud'.

"See that, Sasuke?" Kakashi said in an amusing tone. "If you lose control of your chakra, you fall. The purpose of this exercise is to improve your chakra control. The better your chakra control is, the more effectively you can use your jutsu. Genjutsu requires good control of your chakra too, so if you want to learn Genjutsu, you have to improve your control first."

"But then… does that mean Naruto has the best chakra control among us?" Sakura questioned. Kakashi smiled.

"Not quite. Right now, it is the truth that Naruto has the best control, but with enough training, your control shall become better than him. Naruto is not someone suitable for precise chakra control."

Naruto pouted. "Hey, I'm not that bad!"

"Right, right. Well, if you're that good, how about you looking after your teammate for a while? I have some work to do."

And Kakashi flickered away without letting Naruto say a word. Naruto stared at the place Kakashi had just disappeared from for a while, then grumbled something sounded suspiciously like 'damn lazy bastard'.

* * *

><p>Sasuke was frustrated. Sakura had got the technique at her first try. Meanwhile, his best was just ten steps up the trunk before he lost control and fell to the ground.<p>

"Hey, dobe, give me some tip."

Naruto looked at Sasuke and sighed. Yeah, whatever timeline or age he was in, Sasuke was still a jerk.

"Sasuke," he started with a tone full of annoyance. "If you want someone to help you, you should stop using that tone. Who the hell do you think you are, my father?"

Sasuke bristled. "I am an Uchiha…"

"And how does that make you different from anyone?" Naruto cut him short with a sharp voice. "Greater men than you have gotten themselves killed because of that stupid 'I'm from a great clan' thing. Even if you are strong, there will always be someone in this world who is stronger than you. Can you defeat the Hokage? Can you defeat Kakashi-sensei? Hell, can you even defeat Iruka-sensei when he is serious? In this world, you are nothing yet, Sasuke. Do you ever feel that everyone in the village doesn't care about you and your clan? Well, sorry, it's not like everyone ignores you; it's that attitude of yours that make _you _ignore people, and people scare of you! Stop hiding behind your clan name and be a man!"

Anger started to boil in Sasuke's head. He opened his mouth, an insult ready to be thrown at the blond in front of him…

Then he faltered. Because he realized retorting only proved what Naruto said was true.

During the bell test, he couldn't even land a hit on Kakashi alone, even when the jonin was not fighting seriously. Even more so, he was humiliated by said jonin with a stupid trick. Even he himself understood that the gap between their ability was too great.

Since he was a child, his father had taught him that the Uchiha was always the strongest. He was proud of being born into the Uchiha clan, of bearing the Uchiha name and wearing the symbol of the clan on his back. But now looking back, he could see that despite bearing the name of his family, he was still just a weak genin. He was still just a grain of sand in this whole desert called the shinobi world.

And after what the Hokage had told him the previous day… He said that the fatal flaw of the Uchiha clan was the pride of their own power. He didn't want to believe it, but look at what the 'power of the Uchiha' had brought to his clan. They planned a coup on Konoha, and were massacred in the process. Could it be that he was right? Could it be that his pride of the clan name had made him forget who he really was?

"Fine," after a while, Sasuke grumbled begrudgingly. "Can you give me some advice?"

"Alright," Naruto smiled. He was happy that Sasuke decided to be nice for a change. It was just reluctant, but a change is still a change. "What do you feel when you focus your chakra?"

* * *

><p>"Hey, my genin, how was the training going…?"<p>

Kakashi's voice trailed off when he saw Sasuke and Sakura running up and down the tallest trees in the training ground just like walking on flat ground. And Naruto was looking at them from a lower branch, grinning cheekily while hanging himself upside down.

"Wow, you did a great job as a teacher after all. Maybe I'll let you be the sensei of the team for a while…" he joked.

Naruto just stared at him with a deadpan expression, while Sasuke and Sakura gasped in horror, and fell off the trees they were running up.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: There you go. This chapter is mainly about Team 7's first mission and some of their training.**

**This chapter is a bit short, but well, there is not much to say, you know.**

**The Wave arc will begin next chapter... with a twist! Stay tuned! And thank you guys for all the positive reviews!**


	7. Chapter 7: Returning to Wave!

**Chapter 7: Returning to Wave!**

Naruto was skipping on the street of Konohagakure.

Well, to be fair, he had done a lot of useful things during the last week.

He had completed his wind element training. Still not as good as it was during his time, but hey, it's just a week and he already got it to that level. And he was stuck in a ten-year-old body, so that was a plus.

He had managed to gain respect from Sasuke, Sakura and Kakashi-sensei. Since after the tree climbing training, Kakashi-sensei hadn't called him a dead last, and Sakura hadn't punched him silly like before, except for when they were sparring, of course. Sure, Sasuke was still a jerk, but at least he had opened up to everyone in the team more than ever.

He had managed to make the old Hokage tell Sasuke the truth about the massacre of the Uchiha clan. Maybe it was the reason why Sasuke had mellowed out that much. And even jiji didn't look like a senile old man like he was before; he looked somewhat happier, and somehow… stronger. Naruto didn't understand why, but that couldn't be a bad sign, could it?

And he, together with his team, had managed to complete a lot of D-rank missions. Thanks to the shadow clones, anyway.

So there, what was the reason for him not to be in a very happy mood?

CRASH!

"Ow!"

"Ow!"

But despite how happy you were, you should have kept your eyes on the road while you're walking, Naruto.

Naruto rubbed his nose while wincing. That **hurt**. He snapped his head up, ready to throw an insult to the face of the bastard who rammed into him…

Then he stopped abruptly. Because he realized that the one who just crashed into him was Hinata.

The anger in his head was gone in an instant, replaced by honest concern. He jumped toward the fallen girl and shook her lightly.

"Hey, Hinata-chan… Hinata-chan, are you okay?"

The girl groaned meekly and opened her eyes, only to face the concerned blue eyes of her crush directly above her, staring straight into her white orbs.

_Ohmygodohmygodohmygod… I crashed into Naruto-kun… He is staring at me…_

Her face immediately heated up to a dangerous level. Her eyes rolled to the back of her head, and her consciousness started fading…

"Oh no you don't," Naruto cursed. He had almost forgotten about Hinata's strange habit. "Don't go fainting on me now. Wake up Hinata-chan! Wake up!" He slapped her cheek gently.

Hinata groggily opened her eyes again. And she saw Naruto's face, even closer to hers than before. She fainted again.

"Damn it!"

'_**Well, I don't know how to say this, but maybe it would be better if you GET YOUR DAMN FACE OFF HERS?!' **_Kurama snapped in annoyance. The boy was still as dense as always.

"Ah. Good point."

"Hey, what are you doing to Hinata?"

The voice from his back almost made Naruto jumped. He turned back, and realized he was facing Kiba. He smiled nervously.

"Ah… I just crashed into her a few minutes ago, and I was trying to get her back up. Then she just fainted like that." Then he realized the backpack on Kiba's back. He saw that Hinata was also wearing a similar one. "Hey, is your team going somewhere?"

"Ha! We're having a C-rank mission out of the village, so we have to prepare for it!" Kiba bragged. "A dead last like you will not going to have anything like that!"

Akamaru whined. He gave Naruto a look that could be understood as 'Sorry, Naruto-san'.

Naruto rolled his eyes. He had known Kiba for so long that he didn't care about his bragging habit anymore.

Behind them, Hinata groaned and opened her eyes. Again. Fortunately for her, there was no sign of Naruto's face near hers anymore.

But unfortunately for her, he was the first one who recognized that she was awake.

"Ah, Hinata-chan!" He exclaimed, his legs ready to leap towards her. Hinata snapped her eyes shut. She didn't want to be sent to the dreamland once more.

"What? Oh, come on!... Fine…"

Hinata opened her eyes one more time, and sweatdropped seeing Naruto talking to himself, while waving his hand around as if he was chasing some invisible mosquitoes.

Naruto started to sweat when he realized Hinata's stare.

"Crap, I said that out loud, did I?"

The two of them continued staring at each other awkwardly for a while. And maybe they would have stood there like that forever if the voice full of annoyance of Kiba hadn't rose from behind them.

"Oy, lovebirds, cut it out! We have a mission to do here!"

Hinata and Naruto immediately snapped back to reality, their faces both heated up.

_Lovebirds…? _Hinata had to concentrate every particle of her mind to keep herself from fainting again.

"So… good luck on your mission, Hinata-chan…" Naruto said lamely.

"O-okay… Thank you, N-naruto-kun…" Hinata stuttered back, her face was as red as a cherry now. "S-see you soon…"

Then she ran away like flying, leaving Kiba behind coughing like crazy in a smokescreen coming out from nowhere.

'_**Poor girl,' **_Saikyo commented in a sad tone.

'_**Yeah,' **_Chomei agreed. _**'Falling in love with a boy who is as dense as a rock…'**_

'_Hey!'_

* * *

><p>"Jiji, we want a C-rank mission."<p>

Sarutobi blinked. It's not like he was surprised, though. He had expected Naruto to ask for this, considering where and when he was from.

"I agree," Sasuke added. "No offense, but all those chores we have been doing since last week made me sick. I'm tired of seeing clients glaring at us when we arrive for the missions already."

Well, maybe all the glares were aimed at Naruto mainly, but still…

And they didn't know why Naruto deserved all those glares. Sure, he might be a prankster, but that didn't mean… Those glares… it's just… as if he was a monster.

What had Naruto done to them to make them hate him that much?

"Besides," Sakura chimed in. "A team has to complete at least five D-ranks before they can advance to C-ranks, right Hokage-sama? Well, Team 7 has fulfilled the minimum requirement!"

Sasuke smirked. "I didn't know you were interested in a C-rank too, Sakura."

Sakura just blushed. "Anything for you, Sasuke-kun!"

Yes, she was still a fangirl. Couldn't expect anyone to change completely in just a week, right? But she would get better. Hell, she would even have the potential to become a person of mass destruction, if she put her mind into it.

But that was the story of the future. Right now, the only thing whatever she was doing did was creeping Sasuke out completely.

"Well, I guess that's true…" the old Hokage scratched his head. "But I'm afraid the last C-rank mission of this week was taken by Team 8 yesterday. Maybe if you return next week, there will be a mission available for you. So then, how about you just do some more D-ranks while waiting?"

Team 7 groaned. Well, except for Kakashi, of course.

'_**That's weird.'**_

'_Hm? What's wrong, Kurama?'_

'_**As I remember, today is the day you received the mission to Wave, right?' **_the vixen wondered. _**'So there must be at least that mission available for you… Unless…' **_her eyes suddenly widened in realization.

Suddenly, the door to the mission control burst open.

"Hokage-sama! Team 8, led by jonin Kurenai Yuuhi requires reinforcement for their escort mission to Wave! During their mission, they were ambushed by the Demon Brothers of Kirigakure!"

Naruto's blood froze.

Dread twisted his stomach. Now he knew what happened to the mission to Wave. And worse, he knew exactly what was going to happen during that mission.

_Damn it! Why is this happening?_

It meant that team 8 would have to face Zabuza instead of them. During his time, Kakashi was known as the most powerful jonin of Konohagakure, even without the Mangekyo Sharingan. And he'd still had to struggle against Zabuza.

What if Kurenai-sensei couldn't hold her own against the Demon of Kirigakure…?

Kiba… Shino… _Hinata-chan_…

"Jiji! We will take that mission!"

The sudden outburst of Naruto shocked everyone in the room.

Iruka was the first one to revive from the shock. "Don't be a fool Naruto! That mission shall be declared at least B-rank, and there's no way you're qualified enough to take it!"

"Does it look like I FUCKING care?" Naruto snapped back in anger. He didn't even realize that he had just sworn in front of Iruka-sensei and everyone, but as he said, he didn't care. "Right now my friends are in danger, and you expect me to just sit back and watch them die? Someone had taught me before: Those who abandon their comrades in need are lower than trash. No matter what you say, I will not sit there and leave my friends alone to die!"

Iruka was almost thrown off balance. Not only because of Naruto's retort. Something about the boy was making him feel… uneasy. The Naruto in front of him right now was not the same Naruto he used to know. Never before had he seen Naruto so angry. And mature, too. Those words could not be the words of a mere newly graduated genin.

Looking at Naruto right now, Iruka couldn't help but imagining of a certain famous shinobi with spiky blond hair, just like Naruto.

Meanwhile, Kakashi was also shocked, but for a completely different reason. His visible eye locked at the frame of the blond in front of him, gears seemed to grind madly inside his head.

_How did he know those words…?_

"This is interesting. We will take the mission."

Sasuke's voice suddenly rose. In his face was a predator grin.

Sakura hesitated. "Uh… Sasuke-kun… I don't think our skill is enough for that kind of mission…"

"This mission is a good way to prove my strength," Sasuke insisted. "I want to see how good I am against a strong enemy."

Naruto looked back at Sasuke, a wave of gratitude swept through his stomach. He didn't expect the other boy to support him like that.

Although what Sasuke said did make him feel a bit on edge, he pushed the thought away. Right now, the mission was more important.

"Well… if Sasuke-kun said so… then I also have no problem," Sakura said after a deep breath.

Iruka turned to Kakashi for support. "Kakashi, say something! Team 7 is not good enough for this kind of mission!"

As he wished, Kakashi opened his mouth.

"Very well. Team 7 accepts the mission, Hokage-sama."

Iruka almost fainted. "But… but Kakashi…"

"Iruka, remember that those three are not your students anymore," Kakashi cut him short. "They are my soldiers now, and I know what to do with them. I believe they can handle whatever they are going to face in a mission like this. Besides," he gave an eye smile, "they have me with them."

Iruka seemed like he wanted to say some more, but he was cut short again, this time by the Hokage. "Very well Kakashi, I hereby assign the mission to give Team 8 reinforcement as Team 7's first official B-rank. I expect you to depart within one hour, without any delay. Do you understand?"

"Yes, Hokage-sama!"

Realizing the seriousness of the event, Sakura and Sasuke rushed out of the room back to their respective homes for preparation. Naruto was going to follow them before Kakashi's hand grasped his shoulder firmly.

"Naruto, we need to talk."

The eye smile from before was completely gone. Naruto gulped, a bead of sweat started to fall from his temple.

"Okay, sure… But I think we will have to tell jiji about this first. No, seriously, I won't try to run away."

* * *

><p>An hour later, Team 7 assembled at the main gate of the village, fully equipped.<p>

"Summoning Jutsu!"

Pakkun, Kakashi's personal ninken, appeared in a puff of smoke.

"Wassup Kakashi?" he raised his paw. "What kind of mission is it that you have to require my assistance?"

Kakashi's face was full of seriousness. "Pakkun, I need you to track down the position of Team 8, led by Kurenai. Can you do it?"

"Hm? Kurenai? Isn't that the beauty with red eyes that you like, Kakashi? Alright, wait a minute…"

Naruto snickered. "Kakashi-sensei likes Kurenai-sensei? Really?"

The glare of Kakashi immediately shut him up.

"Found them! They're in the border between the Land of Fire and the Land of Wave, and are moving at a slow speed! We can catch up with them in two hours if we go full speed!" the dog at his feet suddenly exclaimed. Kakashi nodded, and turned back to his genin.

"Alright everyone, this is the first high-ranked mission you are about the take part in," he said in an unusually serious tone. In his voice, there was no trace of his usual laziness. Instead, it was full of power and professionalism. "I have to tell you, this is not like any mission you have done before. It will likely include fighting, injuries, and even death. Are you sure you really want to do it? If you don't, you can turn back and go home right now, and I will not make you hold any responsibility."

No one budged. Kakashi nodded in satisfaction.

"Good. Now if everyone is ready… GO!"

The command echoed through the woods around, and the four shinobi and their dog took off.

* * *

><p>Kurenai cursed inwardly while struggling to hold her breath inside her assailant's Water Prison.<p>

Since their departing from Konoha, she had felt something very wrong was going to happen during their mission. And after meeting the Demon Brothers, her dreaded feeling was proven to be true. And she had made the terrible mistake of allowing the mission to continue, though she had also sent a letter requesting reinforcement back to Konoha.

She just didn't expect to run into Zabuza Momochi, the Demon of the Hidden Mist, of all people.

Since the start of their battle, the difference in their power had been proven to be too much. As a Genjutsu specialist, her other skills couldn't hope to compare to those of Zabuza.

And now look at what that devil had done. Shino was lying on the ground, his kikai insect hive completely exhausted. Kiba and Akamaru were smashed into a tree nearby, with Akamaru unconscious, and Kiba holding his ribs in pain. And she was trapped inside this water sphere, waiting for death.

The only defense of their client right now was Hinata. The girl's Byakugan were activated, but her limbs were trembling like crazy.

"I must admit, you are not called the Genjutsu Mistress of Konohagakure for nothing, Kurenai Yuuhi. But even that, you are still no match for me."

A normal human could only hold her breath for about three minutes. If she can't do anything to get out of the water, she will be drowned.

Kurenai's body was screaming out in protest. It had reached its limit, and all muscles and organs inside her was convulsing under the pressure and lack of air. Her consciousness was gradually slipping away.

"Now, you'll stay there quietly when I kill the bridge builder."

Kurenai could only watch helplessly when the water clone of Zabuza took its form and started walking towards the client and her genins, sword raised high.

The reinforcement didn't arrive in time.

It's over. There's no way they could escape now. They would all be killed.

She had failed as a jonin sensei…

The gigantic cleaver was brought down in a deadly arc.

….

And it was stopped dead in its way with a loud 'CLANG'.

Never before had Kurenai felt so relieved hearing the sound of steel clashing against steel.

_Thank goodness. Reinforcement has finally arrived._

Then everything went dark around her.

* * *

><p>Hinata was terrified.<p>

The truth is, she is by no means a weak fighter. With her Byakugan and Juuken, she can kill almost anyone she wants with just a quick slap to their chest. And her speed and flexibility are nothing to be underestimated, either. With all those skills, she definitely has the potential to become one of the most deadly kunoichi in the world.

But that's only if she wants to.

Hinata hates fighting. Being a meek and gentle girl, she doesn't want to hurt anything, or anyone, even if it is her enemy. Because of that, despite being in the Hyuuga clan, a clan specializes in murdering people with their finger pokes of doom, her grade in taijutsu was just mediocre comparing to other students during her Academy time.

Because of that, everyone in the clan laughs at her, and even her own father despises her, calling her 'the failure of Hyuuga clan'.

And because of that, she is the weakest link in Team 8's formation.

And right now she was trembling like crazy when the masked assassin descended at her with his giant cleaver raising high.

"Sorry little girl. I don't like killing children, but you're in my way. So you're going to die now."

She closed her eyes, waiting for the consequence.

The blade was brought down on her head.

She heard Kiba screaming her name, Shino grunting in pain, and footsteps coming from behind her.

Spiky blond hair flashed through her mind.

_Naruto-kun… I'm sorry…_

A loud 'CLANG' echoed through her ears, and she suddenly felt her body being lifted off the ground. She snapped her eyes open, only to see that all she could see was the spiky blond hair she had just imagined.

"Sorry Hinata-chan, am I late?"

* * *

><p>Team 7 had arrived in time.<p>

Yeah, it was Kakashi who jumped out to block the sword of the Zabuza clone right before it chopped Hinata in half and destroyed it with a quick slash of his kunai. And it was Naruto, well, more exactly a clone of him, who grabbed the girl and jumped away from the battlefield.

It would have been an awesome heroic princess rescuing scene which can only be seen in cliché shoujo anime… had Naruto carried Hinata in some other way rather than a fireman's lift.

Well, can't blame him; he is Naruto anyway. Naruto is always an idiot when it comes to romance.

"Go die in hell, author!"

Did I tell you not to break the fourth wall, Naruto? And If I die, you will not exist anymore.

"Well, you're not my creator anyway!"

But I'm the one writing this story.

"Ah, touché."

* * *

><p>Zabuza sneered when looking at his new opponent.<p>

"Ah, Kakashi of the Sharingan. The man who has copied over one thousand jutsu. Such an honor of me to face someone as famous as you."

"Zabuza Momochi, known as Demon of the Hidden Mist," Kakashi answered. "I have to ask you to release the woman you're trapping inside your Water Prison, or else I'll have to kill you." He finished, and pulled his hitai-ate up, revealing his Sharingan.

"Oh? I'd like to see you try," Zabuza laughed, and squeezed his hand a bit. Inside the ball of water, Kurenai gasped in pain, air bubbles poured out of her mouth at a dangerous pace. At this rate she would die of asphyxiation in a minute.

"Approach me, and the woman will die immediately. If you don't, she will die in a few minutes. Now which way do you choose, Kakashi of the Sharingan?" Zabuza taunted, and Kakashi gritted his teeth.

_Hostage… Damn it… I won't be able to save Kurenai and defeat him at the same time… What should I do now…?_

"Neither!"

_What?_

A fuuma shuriken flew out of the forest behind them, aiming at Zabuza's face. Of course, Zabuza caught it easily with his free hand.

"Hah! As if such a silly trick of some snot nosed genin could even touch me!"

Then the shuriken turned into Naruto, who started dogpiling him with clones. A lot of clones.

"What… Wha… What the…? Get off me, brat!"

The Naruto clones just grinned, before grabbing his arms and legs, trying to push Zabuza down into the water below him with all their combined weight.

"DAMN YOOOUUUUU!" After a while, Zabuza had enough. His chakra exploded violently, throwing all the Naruto clones away in a gust. He reached out his vacant hand, grabbing the handle of his sword and swung hard, slamming at the real Naruto and sending the boy flying like a baseball. The blond boy hit the ground with a loud "thud", and some sickening cracks echoed through the air. Smirking behind his bandage, Zabuza formed a one-handed seal, intending to mold chakra to form a Water Clone to finish the boy off…

…Only for a fist to drill itself into his face. This time, it was Zabuza who was sent flying, his hand were ripped away forcefully from the Water Prison. Without its chakra source, the ball of water melted away, releasing Kurenai who was nearly dead inside it.

Holding the unconscious woman in his hand, Kakashi turned back to Zabuza, who was now struggling to get his body out of the water. Killing intent blasting out of his body was so massive it seemed to be visible like a raging flame.

"I'll show you Zabuza," he said coldly, "that **no one** is gonna mess with Kakashi Hatake's students and get away with it."

* * *

><p>Two advices for you: Do not try to get on Kakashi's nerves when he is angry.<p>

And do not, **ever in your life**, try to kill his students. Especially when the student is Naruto Uzumaki.

If you want to know why, ask Zabuza. He'll tell you what it feels to be curbstomped by the Sharingan user. And being blasted in the face by a giant fire hose in the form of a dragon is only the tip of the iceberg.

The fact that Kakashi wasn't stuck inside the Water Prison for about ten minutes with his Sharingan out wastefully didn't help Zabuza in any way.

For the sake of underage readers, pregnant women, elders with heart problems, and ridiculously cute critters, the author would prefer to be excused from describing this fight thoroughly in this story due to its brutality.

If Haku hadn't saved him in time by piercing his neck with senbon to shut his body down temporarily, he would have been murdered for real.

The masked fake hunter-nin landed on the ground in front of them, and turned to check up on Zabuza's seemingly dead body. Then he turned back to the group and bowed.

"Thank you for your assistance, Konoha-nin. I've searched for him for a few months, and now I can finally finish my mission."

"You're one of Kirigakure's hunter-nin, right?" Kakashi asked. Being too focus on his own battle, he hadn't noticed the existence of the newly arrived shinobi until now. The hunter-nin nodded.

"Yes, and since my mission has been completed, I have to dispose of this body. It contains too many secrets, and I cannot let it fall into possession of other villages. Farewell."

And the hunter-nin flickered away together with the body. Kakashi's eyes narrowed, but then he sighed and pulled his hitai-ate down, covering his Sharingan up. The battle was over, and there was no reason to worry the genin anymore today, after what they had been suffered.

"You also noticed it, right Kakashi-sensei?"

Kakashi almost jumped when he heard Naruto's quiet whisper right next to him. He nodded quietly, understanding what the blond wanted to say.

"Then why didn't you go after them?"

Kakashi sighed. "I'm almost out of chakra. Besides, Kurenai and her team need some rest after what happened today. And what about you, Naruto? I heard some nasty cracks from your body over there."

"Nah, I'm fine. At least this time you're not unconscious, sensei," Naruto chuckled.

"Well, I will be if we do not have something to eat and a bed to rest soon," Kakashi smiled back. "So how about you go and help the other? It might be better if we arrive at our client's house before sunset."

Naruto nodded, and started going back to the others, who was now busy with Kurenai and other members of Team 8, but not before taking a quick glance at the end of the trail again.

_Just wait for me. This time I will not let anyone of you die. Believe it._

* * *

><p><strong>AN: History has started to change! This time with Team 8 around, will everything be the same as before?**

**Kakashi has become serious and badass. **

**And yeah, NaruHina. This is, you know, one of the only two couples which seem to be canon besides ShikaTema. Seriously, I don't know if there is any man who doesn't fall in love for real with a girl who risked her own life to save his ass. So there, please don't flame me if you don't like this pairing.**

**Please review!**


	8. Chapter 8: Preparation

**A/N: It seems like many people hate the NaruHina pairing. But don't worry, it's not the official pairing... yet. The truth is, I don't plan on having romance as one of the main themes of this story, because I'm horrible at romantic things... just like Naruto :3**

**Now, on with the story! **

**Oh, and Naruto and all of its elements including the characters belong to Masashi Kishimoto.**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 8: Preparation<strong>

Tsunami was horrified when a bunch of people she didn't know stumbled at her front door, all looked like they had just crawled out of a minefield.

"By Kami! What in the world had just happened?" she exclaimed in disbelief, slapping a hand to her mouth. But everyone, well, maybe almost everyone, was too exhausted to answer her question.

Finally, Tazuna said, after catching his breath.

"Tsunami, these are the ninja escorting me. Please treat them properly. We've been through a very hard day."

* * *

><p>"Um… How is Kurenai-sensei, Kakashi-sensei?"<p>

Kakashi looked at the timid Hyuuga and smiled.

"She'll be fine. She's drained herself out, but nothing a few days of rest cannot fix. Right now she's sleeping, so don't disturb her."

The girl let out a sigh in relief. "Thank goodness…"

"Oh, and how're your teammates doing?" Kakashi remembered. "I think they were hurt pretty bad out there."

"They… they're fine, I think…" Hinata shook her head. "Shino-kun's bugs are exhausted… and Kiba-kun and Akamaru… they are quite… beaten up… but I think… they're not hurt too much… At least… no bone is broken…"

"Ah, that's great," Kakashi's facial muscles relaxed. "Then let's go check up on them, shall we? I don't know much about medical jutsu, but I can still help patching them up."

For the first time in the day, Hinata smiled.

"Thank you, Kakashi-sensei!"

And she was able to complete a sentence without stuttering, too.

* * *

><p>"Well, I hate to tell you this, but I suspect that Zabuza is still alive."<p>

Kakashi's words were nothing less than a bomb dropped in the middle of the quiet room.

"What do you mean sensei?" Sakura blinked. Kakashi nodded solemnly.

"Senbon is the type of weapon with the lowest probability of killing the target. Furthermore, I didn't have the time to check Zabuza's body to ensure that he was dead. And hunter-nin's job is usually to destroy the body of a ninja right in the battlefield to ensure that secrets in that body don't fall into enemies' hand. In fact, I've never seen a hunter-nin carrying a dead body away like that. Connecting all those evidences… yeah, there is a very high possibility that Zabuza is still alive."

For a while, the room was silent. And by silent, I meant **completely, utterly silent. **

There was absolutely no sound. Even the sound of breathing was absent. It seemed like time itself had stopped during that moment.

Then total pandemonium broke out.

"AHHHH! ZABUZA IS STILL ALIVE! WE'RE GOING TO DIE!" screamed Kiba hysterically, while running around the room like there was a train chasing after him. Sasuke and Shino cringed at the same time and jumped out of their seat, both ready to defend themselves with whatever they had: Sasuke with weapons, and Shino with his newly revived kikai bugs. Sakura's and Hinata's faces were as white as chalk, and they started to tremble uncontrollably. It seemed they could faint if anyone touched them on the shoulders at that moment.

Kakashi sweatdropped. "Uh, you guys, I didn't say that…"

Screams cut him short.

Had it not been for the fact that almost everyone was scared shitless, the scene in the room right now would have been incredibly funny.

"CALM THE FUCK DOWN ALL OF YOU!"

After five minutes, Kakashi had enough. He exploded, and everyone in the room cringed. Yes, even Naruto.

Realizing that he had just spewed out profanities in front of the genin, Kakashi cleared his throat awkwardly and continued.

"Well, as I have just said, Zabuza is still alive. And together with him is the mysterious ninja who rescued him. The problem is, we don't know how strong that ninja really is, and what kind of ability he… or she… has. And Kurenai is still unconscious, and might be unable to fight in a few days. But luckily for us, the wounds of Zabuza were also very severe, and I think he cannot show his face in less than a week and a half. Because of that, starting from tomorrow, I'll give all of you training to improve your abilities in case Zabuza attacks again, which no doubt will happen in a few more days. Together with that, we will take turn guarding our client when he goes to the bridge for work. Do you understand?"

Everyone nodded. Kakashi's face relaxed. "Good. Now everyone, go to sleep immediately. We have much work to do in the morning."

When Kakashi left the room, Sakura whispered. "Wow, Kakashi-sensei just got serious. I can't believe I would live to see the day he's not lazy."

Poor Sakura. She had underestimated the hearing ability of a jonin. And Kakashi definitely didn't leave the room far enough to _not _hear what she had just said.

* * *

><p>The next morning, the Konoha group, minus Kurenai, of course, assembled in a clearing in the forest behind the house.<p>

"All right, before we start training, I need to know what you can do first. I'm not your jonin sensei, so I cannot get a grasp of your ability yet. You first, Shino."

The glassed boy answered. "I can use my clan's insect jutsu."

"And?" Kakashi nodded, waiting for the boy to continue. But he didn't. The excitement of Kakashi withered away.

"You don't know any other jutsu except your clan jutsu?"

The boy shook his head slightly. "I can do basic academy ones, too. My chakra is mainly used to feed and grow my hive."

Kakashi sighed. "Figures. Kiba?"

"Yeah! I have been trained in my clan's unique taijutsu! And I got Akamaru, too!" the dog boy hollered, and Akamaru whined in agreement. "Oh, and I also know basic academy jutsu," he added.

Kakashi nodded. "That will do. And you, Hinata?"

The timid girl started hesitantly. "Um… I… I have my Byakugan… and I know the basic of Juuken… but I'm not very good…"

"I see," Kakashi nodded in understanding, "as expected from a Hyuuga. So that was the idea of Kurenai when she chose a team with two taijutsu users who are only capable of using their clan's techniques, and one supporter using only insect ninjutsu… This is gonna be a problem…"

"Why is that, sensei?" Sakura asked in confusion. Kakashi sighed.

"Because Team 8 was selected by Kurenai to be a reconnaissance team, Sakura. And the role of a reconnaissance team in combat is different from that of an assault team. Usually, during battles, the mission of a reconnaissance team is to confirm the location of enemies, report it back to the assault squads and then retreat quietly without engaging. Because of that, their battle capabilities are mostly lower than other teams… well, maybe higher than a team full of medics, but still…"

"Hey! How dare you underestimate us? We're much better than that loser over there!" Kiba barked in rage, while pointing at Naruto, who 'Hey!' in protest. Even Hinata seemed to be a bit upset at the jonin's remark.

"I didn't mean it like that, Kiba. What I meant here is, as a reconnaissance team, you are not the type of shinobi who are suitable for frontal assault," Kakashi countered with a professional voice. "Hinata and Shino, you two possess jutsu which are capable of silent assassination. And you, Kiba, you have the ability to pinpointing your enemy's location precisely in the shadow and finish them off in one strike. Those skills allow you to be specialists in scouting and assassination in close range. But against enemies with heavy mid-ranged and long-ranged firepower, such as Zabuza, you don't have any skills which can be used against them. Am I right about that?"

The jonin's statement hit bullseye. Having nothing else to say, Kiba grumbled unhappily.

"Well, that's true…"

"But… does it mean that… that you… you can't train us…?" Hinata stammered; her eyes were full of worry. Kakashi scratched his cheek.

"Well, not quite. It's true that I cannot turn you into an assault team in such a short time, but right now I can train you in some basic skills that will help you survive in a battle. Now, have any of you learn the tree walking exercise?"

Hinata and Shino raised their hands. Kakashi nodded. "Good. Then while Kiba train on that skill, a shadow clone of me will train you two in your movement and reflex. And the real me will go with Sasuke and Naruto to guard Tazuna."

"Sensei, what about me?" Sakura raised her voice, confused as her name wasn't mentioned.

"Oh, don't worry Sakura. Your basics are not bad. Even your chakra control is perfect, considering you have completed both the tree climbing and water walking exercises so quickly. However, you have two major weaknesses, which is your fragile body and lack of stamina. Therefore, in your training, I will mainly push your body to the limit to improve it. Which reminds me…" Kakashi bit his finger, then weaved through hand seals. "Summoning Jutsu!"

Smoke filled the air, but when it dispersed, not only Pakkun, but a whole pack of hunting dogs appeared in front of the group. And their teeth were dripping with saliva.

"Sakura," Kakashi gave her an eye smile. "You'd better start running now. Oh, and you guys," he told the dogs, "don't stop chasing her until I tell you to."

The poor girl could only scream and run for her life when the pack of predators leapt at her, fangs bared.

All the remaining genin couldn't help sharing the same thought.

_Kakashi-sensei is such a sore loser…_

* * *

><p>"This sucks."<p>

"Yeah. At least Sakura got to train."

Sasuke and Naruto were sulking at the side of the huge construction which was going to be the great bridge.

Yeah, they understood that because they're the better ones in the group, they should leave the training opportunity to the others who were not as good as them.

But this… this was just torture. Never in his life had Naruto felt so bored.

Yeah, in his timeline, Naruto had never had to go for a shift in the construction zone. Whenever his teammates went for it, Naruto would have either gone for training or lain unconscious in Tazuna's house. And that made it even worse.

Sometimes being too good will just come back and bite you in the ass.

"AHHHHH! THAT'S ITTTT!" Naruto finally snapped. Completely lost his patience, he bolted up, and kicked a boulder next to him.

CRACK

"AHHH! FUUUCCCCCKKKKK! MY TOES!"

Sasuke face-palmed, shaking his head. "Idiot…"

"There are other ways more effective to entertain yourself rather than smashing your foot against rocks, Naruto," Kakashi said amusedly. He had just arrived in time to see Naruto break his toes on the rock. The boy glared at him, jumping around on one leg.

"Oh yeah? We're definitely not going to read your porn to amuse ourselves, thank you very much. Ouch."

Kakashi sighed. "How many times do I have to tell you that it was not mere porn? And anyway, you don't have to always move your body around to train. Here."

He pulled out a piece of chakra paper and gave it to Sasuke. The Uchiha boy blinked. "What am I supposed to do with that?"

"Channel chakra into it. It will show what element your chakra is."

Sasuke blinked again. "But I know I have fire already."

"Well, who knows," the jonin smiled. "Just try it; maybe we'll have a surprise."

Sasuke looked at him incredulously, but complied anyway. The paper crumpled into a ball, and then caught fire until it became a pile of ash at his feet.

Kakashi blinked. "Fire and lightning. Two of the most destructive elements, and very powerful too… Well, genin usually do not have this many when they've just graduated. But I'm not surprised, considering what Naruto has."

"Huh? What element do you have, dobe?"

Naruto answered nonchalantly. "Oh, I have wind, water, earth, fire and lightning."

Sasuke's eyes bugged out. "What? You have all **five**? How is that possible?"

"Dunno," Naruto shrugged, "it's just kinda happened."

"Damn it… How could you be so powerful? It's not fair!" Sasuke gritted his teeth.

"Says the one who is going to have the uber hax Sharingan with the ability to copy every jutsu, seeing everything in slow motion and blah blah blah whatever more I don't know," Naruto snorted in retort, and Sasuke winced.

"Well, you got a point… but still…"

If Naruto hadn't known better, he could have sworn that Sasuke was pouting.

"All right, you two," Kakashi grabbed the boys' shoulders and turned them back to the story. "The fact that you have natural affinities from birth doesn't mean much as you advance in your career. You can even gain all of them if you train yourself hard enough. In fact, the Third Hokage was born with fire element, but during his reign as Hokage, he mastered all five affinities and was incredibly competent with all of them."

"Wow, really?" Naruto blinked in surprise. That was a piece of information he hadn't known. "I didn't expect jiji to be that strong."

"He isn't known as 'The God of Shinobi' for nothing, Naruto," Kakashi eye smiled. "But enough talking. Sasuke, you're lucky that my main affinity is lightning, so I already have the training program of yours in my mind. Naruto, how's your wind element training going?"

"Hehe, piece of cake. Watch," Naruto flashed his trademarked foxy grin. He grabbed a leaf on the ground and channeled his chakra through it. The leaf split in half.

"Hey, wait a second," Sasuke suddenly asked. In his voice, there was a hint of anger. "Why did Naruto have elemental training before me?"

"Oh, it's because he asked me first," Kakashi answered. Sasuke fumed.

"Again? Why do I need to ask for everything I want?"

"And why do you think you don't, Sasuke?" Kakashi countered with a sharp voice. "In this world, you're in no position to order people to give you what you want. People will only hand you things because they want to. If you want something, you have to ask for it first, and wait to see if they're willing to give it to you or not. If they aren't, scram. You don't have the right to force people to hand things to you. No one has."

Sasuke winced again. Those words were just like what Naruto had told him the other day.

Naruto slapped him on the back. "Oh, chill out, teme. At least you were properly trained in fire element already, so if there was anyone who should be jealous, it would be me, not you."

"Touché…" Sasuke muttered.

"All right, now as all the disputes have been settled, let's get to training, shall we?" Kakashi smiled. "Sasuke, get a leaf on that tree over there and try to make it wrinkled with your chakra alone, like… this," he grabbed a leaf and channeled chakra through it. It crumpled. "And Naruto, since you have completed the first step already, and we have no waterfall here…"

"I've done waterfall cutting, too, but it doesn't seem very good." Naruto interrupted. Kakashi's visible eye widened.

"That fast? Very well, if it comes to this…"

He looked around, and pointed below the construction zone.

"Try to cut the river in half, and we'll see."

Naruto followed his finger, and sweatdropped.

"You've gotta be kidding me."

* * *

><p>Sasuke and Naruto pushed the door open, only to find the others lying half dead behind it.<p>

"Holy shit," Naruto gaped. "Did Zabuza attack you guys?"

"Kakashi-sensei is worse than Zabuza," Kiba muttered, and smashed his face on the ground. He was too exhausted to even keep speaking.

"What did he make you do?" Sasuke raised his eyebrow. Only Sakura had enough energy left to groan.

"Ten kilometres of running nonstop, then one hundred push-ups, one hundred sit-ups, and one hundred squats. Continuously."

"Ooh," Naruto winced. "That's brutal. Hope you won't lose all your hair because of that. Ah, but I think we should stop talking; sensei's coming."

At that moment, Kakashi and Tazuna stepped into the room.

"Ah, I see that you all survived. Good," Kakashi nodded with a smile. "Then tomorrow we will continue, and if possible, I will push it another level further."

Everyone groaned.

From that day onwards, Sakura couldn't decide that she hated Kakashi more when he was lazy or when he finally became serious.

* * *

><p>"Why do you try so hard? You're all gonna be killed."<p>

Everyone lifted their eyes off their dinner to see Inari scowling at the door. Tsunami exclaimed in relief.

"Inari! Where have you been? I thought something happened to you…"

"What do you mean when you say we're gonna be killed, brat?" Kiba asked. "The next time we face that masked bastard, we'll show them who is boss! Right, Akamaru?" The white dog barked in agreement.

"Hmph," Inari sneered bitterly. "No one can beat Gato. No matter how hard you train, you're still no match for his men. When facing the strong, the weak will only end up getting killed."

"Whatever, kid," Naruto yawned. "After this training, the weak ones will no longer be us anymore. And we will save the Land of Wave from Gato."

"Shut up! Stop talking like you understand about this country!" Inari screamed; tears started to roll down his cheeks. "You ninjas are always goofing around; you don't know how hard life can be! Stop trying to be heroes! There is nothing as a hero anyway!"

Everyone suddenly felt an ominous flare of rage. Naruto stood up, and walked towards Inari.

His eyes were red and slitted.

SLAP!

Inari was sent flying and slammed into the wall.

It's needless to say how surprised and shocked everyone in the room was upon Naruto's sudden outburst. Sakura bolted up from her seat.

"Naruto! Why did you…?"

Naruto glared back at her, and Sakura flinched under the gaze of her teammate. Never before had she seen Naruto so angry. Even the rage in the conference room two days ago was nothing comparing to this.

"Don't worry, I held back." Naruto said coldly. Then he turned back to Inari. "You know what, brat? If you as well as everyone of this village keep that attitude, you will be stuck with Gato for at least half a century more. Posing as the star of the tragedy and crying all day won't help you taking down tyrants. And about that latter statement…" he growled dangerously, "…don't ever think that only you have a hard life. There are many people in this world who have hells of a life comparing to yours. At least you still have a mother and a grandfather who care for you."

Then he kicked the door open. Hinata called after him worriedly.

"Wait, Naruto-kun… your dinner…"

"Sorry Hinata-chan, but I lost my appetite. I need to let my stress loose for a while. Don't go look for me."

And with that, Naruto walked out of the house into the darkness, leaving behind eleven pairs of eyes which were all staring at his disappearing back.

* * *

><p>"ORYAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!"<p>

Tree bark flew everywhere after another failed attempt of Naruto's other signature jutsu slammed into the trunk.

Naruto slumped down on the ground. His chakra reserve was considerably larger than that of even his mature body, but it wasn't unlimited. After so many failures of using the Rasengan, he had begun to feel the burden of chakra exhaustion. And pain was wrecking through his body as if a truck had just hit him.

_Damn it… After all those chakra control practices, I still can't use it properly… And why does my body hurt so much…?_

Those words of Inari… Just remembering about it sent pain through his heart. Now, hearing it directly from the boy's mouth again, it hurt even worse. He knew that the boy didn't really mean it, but still…

"Even if you're upset, you shouldn't exhaust yourself like that, Naruto. We don't want you to lie unconscious during the whole mission, right?"

He didn't have to turn back to know the owner of that voice.

"I told you that you shouldn't go look for me, Kakashi-sensei."

Kakashi stepped into the clearing. He looked around. "Rasengan, huh? So what you said about coming from the future is not a farce, I see."

"I told you," Naruto smirked tiredly.

Kakashi sat down on the ground beside him. "However, using such a jutsu in a large scale will wear you down very quickly. Just take it easy and have a break, will you?"

He patted the ground, and Naruto let his body fall on the bed of grass.

"It's hard to believe I could ever see you guys once more," he mouthed. Kakashi smiled sadly. He understood how hard it had been to Naruto when Inari barked those words at his face, considering he had been from an apocalyptic future where all his precious people had been killed right in front of him. He started, trying to change the subject.

"So… how am I in the future?"

Naruto chuckled. "Still a lazy one, and a porn addict, but you could be serious when the situation needs you to. You have… well, had, I don't know… the Mangekyo Sharingan, with a jutsu called Kamui which can open a black hole on the air and suck everything into it. Well, during my time, someone told me that you had to kill someone close to you to achieve it, but no, I don't think you're someone who did something like that to your friend. And…"

He couldn't finish his sentence. He didn't want to remind himself again how Kakashi was killed by the hand of Madara.

Kakashi grimaced. He already knew that he had the Mangekyo Sharingan, and he also knew exactly who he had killed to get it. And that's the reason why he had never wanted to use it, despite whatever powers it might bring him. His lack of chakra to use the technique even once didn't help, either.

"I'm not as good as you think, Naruto," he said solemnly. "During one mission, my teammate Rin was captured by Kirigakure and turned into the Sanbi's jinchuriki. They planned to unleash the beast in the middle of Konoha to destroy it from the inside. And to protect the village…" Kakashi's voice quivered, "…she plunged herself right into my Chidori. I couldn't stop… I killed her…"

Kakashi's voice shook and died. Naruto's eyes widened. All those times… he had never known… never bothered to ask…

'_**So that's the reason why Obito flipped out like that,' **_Kurama said. She was also shocked by Kakashi's story. _**'He must have seen that happen somehow...'**_

'_**No. That's impossible.'**_

Everyone inside Naruto's head turned to Isobu, the one who had just raised his voice. Beads of sweat were rolling down his face, and his eyes were full of realization. In beast form, his face was covered with hard shell, so they couldn't see its color; but they're sure that if they could, it would be covered in white.

'_**What do you mean, Iso-kun?' **_Chomei asked. Isobu nodded grimly.

'_**I've never had a female jinchuriki in my life. There is no way someone can seal me into a jinchuriki without me knowing about it. Kakashi and Obito had both been tricked.'**_

If the news that Zabuza was alive was a bomb, the information Isobu had just brought them would be just like a nuclear warhead being detonated in the middle of Naruto's mindscape.

'_**Damn it,' **_Gyuki cursed. _**'It must have been that aloe vera guy of Akatsuki. People said that his transformation was perfect and couldn't be detected even by doujutsu. If that's the case, making some clones of that Rin girl and some Mist cannon fodders would just be a child's play to him."**_

Naruto's face went white in shock and anger.

'_Kurama, can you check the surrounding for eavesdroppers?'_

'_**Huh? There's no one around here except for you two… but…' **_the vixen's eyes widened. _**'You're going to tell him.'**_

'_I have to do it. There is no reason to keep Kakashi-sensei mourning about something he didn't do.'_

'_**What? Are you crazy?' **_Shukaku protested. _**'There's no telling what will happen if someone else knows that information! If the Akatsuki knows about it…' **_

'_**I believe in onii-chan.'**_

This time, every head turned to Saikyo, the one who had just blurted out those words.

'_**It's just like Utakata-niichan again…' **_Saikyo hung her head. _**'It's because of something I did that he couldn't live a day without regret… I don't want something like that to happen again…'**_

All the other Tailed Beasts winced. They had all known about the accident of Utakata in the shared mindscape before, and they understood how their little sister had felt when the jinchuriki she loved and respected as a brother almost killed himself because of something he hadn't even known about.

'_**You're right…' **_Gyuki finally nodded. _**'I think leaving him in the dark will cause more harm than benefit.'**_

'_**Heh, just leave it to the little sister to come up with the brilliant idea,' **_Shukaku chuckled. Saikyo blushed.

'_Alright, then…' _Naruto inhaled sharply. "Kakashi-sensei, there is something I need to tell you…"

Silence filled the air for a while after Naruto told Kakashi the story. Then, screams of bloody murder could be heard echoing through the forest.

00000

At the same time, a certain Uchiha who was sitting in the realm of the dead, waiting to be revived suddenly cringed.

* * *

><p>"WHAT DO YOU MEAN I CANNOT GO INTO TAILED BEAST MODE?!"<p>

It was almost a week since the ambush in the forest.

Everyone was progressing nicely. Sasuke had quickly gotten the hang of his lightning element, and was now struggling on the second step of his training. Sakura's stamina, strength, chakra reserve and taijutsu had all improved drastically thanks to the brutal training sessions of Kakashi, and now she was starting on her chakra nature, which was checked by Kakashi and identified as earth. Kurenai had mostly recovered, and she was now training Team 8 in ambush tactics, as well as improving their teamwork and their clan abilities even more. It could be said that Team 8 would be a match for Team 7 when it came to fighting as a team right now, if they went all out.

Therefore, the declaration of Kurama to Naruto was nothing less than a hammer to his head.

"**Sheesh, could you be a little bit louder? There might be someone fifty miles away who didn't hear you,"**Kurama answered sarcastically.

"We're in my mind," Naruto deadpanned. Kurama snorted.

"**And I didn't say you couldn't;" **she added,** "it's just your body cannot handle something like the Tailed Beast Mode at the moment."**

"Why?"Naruto blinked. "I've used your chakra for a very long time, haven't I?"

"**Using our chakra is one thing, but going full Tailed Beast is different from just a little chakra, Naruto-kun,"**Matatabi said. **"The full beast form is basically using all of our chakra at the same time to create an avatar of ourselves using the body of the jinchuriki as a base. Because of that, the strain each time you go full form is incredibly great. A human's body is not strong enough to handle all those chakra at the same time, you know. That's why jinchuriki only go full form as a last resort, when their enemies are so powerful they cannot fight them with normal skills. With your child body right now, going full form means crippling your body from chakra overload."**

"**That, and there is another reason,"**Kokuoh chimed in. **"In order to go full form, the beast and the jinchuriki have to perfectly synchronize their minds together. With Kurama, you might have reached that state already, considering how long she had been sealed inside you… but with us, you will need some more time before we can achieve perfect unison. Without that, there is only one way to go full beast, which is letting us take over your body completely, which will kill you."**

Naruto shuddered. "So that's why Ero-sennin only focused on training my body during those three years…"Then he pouted. "But that's not fair… That means I cannot use the Tailed Beast Bomb! What if some powerful enemies show up? How can I beat them without your ultimate skill?"

Matatabi glared at Gyuki. _**"**_**You just have to go and tell him that, did you?'**

Gyuki scratched his head sheepishly.

"**Don't listen to what that musclehead Gyuki said, Naruto,"**Kokuoh said. _**"**_**Sure, the Tailed Beast Bomb is a very powerful attack, but that's not our greatest skill. The ultimate power we Tailed Beasts grant a jinchuriki is the ability we inherited from the Juubi, Creation of All Things."**

Naruto's face twisted into an odd look. "Eh… what is that Create of… whatever… thing?"

"**We can create things from our chakra!" **Chomei chirped happily.

"**Yeah, that's basically it,"**Kokuoh nodded in agreement. **"It's the ability that allows us to create things from chakra alone. Remember the staff and those orb things Obito created when he first created the incomplete Juubi? We can do something similar to that. We can help our jinchuriki to create wings to fly, gills to swim underwater, ink to write, and even weapons to fight with. They're not as potent as the weapons the Juubi creates, but they're still very useful." **

Then the horse chuckled. **"Ironically, it is also the technique that created us in the first place, you know. Our Father, the Sage of Six Paths, is a master of this technique. He can create almost anything with only his imagination and chakra."**

If anyone looked at Naruto's eyes at the moment, they would surely find stars sparkling in them.

Well, in his mindscape, anyway. He's meditating in the outside world.

"So cool… Can you teach me that, please? Pleasepleaseplease…"

Everyone sweatdropped.

"**Hey, leave your study until later; Haku's behind you."**

Naruto's eyes snapped open, right in time to grab the extending arms next to his head and flipped the person behind him over his head, slamming the slim body to the ground.

"Kyah?!"

The kimono of his assailant was flipped open, revealing a pair of small white panties with **absolutely **no bulge under it.

"Oh," was the only smart word Naruto could blurt out before a scream pierced his ears and a hand landed on his right cheek.

'_**Real smooth Naruto, real smooth…' **_Kurama and the other girls face-pawed while the boys laughed their asses off.

* * *

><p>After some more cliché introduction scenes, Haku and Naruto was sitting on the ground facing each other. Both their faces were bright red.<p>

'_**You shouldn't have done something like that to a girl, Naruto-kun,' **_Matatabi scolded Naruto. He snapped back in embarrassment.

'_Oh, come on! The last time we met, she told me she was a boy! How should I know that she really is a girl?'_

'_**Yeah, yeah, I know,' **_the cat waved him off. _**'But anyway, didn't you owe her an apology?'**_

Naruto sighed. Shaking his head to clear the image of Haku's panties from his head ('Damn you, author! I'm not a pervert!'), he inhaled deeply, and started.

"Um, Haku-chan… I'm sorry for doing something like that to you… You know, you were just too quiet, and I… well…"

"It's okay, Naruto-kun," Haku replied. Her face was still having a red tint. "I just didn't expect to find someone here in the forest at this time. You know, you were just sitting there with your eyes closed… I thought you were sleeping, and…"

"Eheheh, I'm just meditating," Naruto chuckled sheepishly. "It's a good way to train my mind, you know."

"Hm…" Haku rubbed her cheek with her finger. "So with that hitai-ate… you're a ninja, right? Wow, you're incredible."

Naruto almost cringed. The smile of the girl in front of him… it was so... fake. The last person he saw with that kind of smile was Sai. His experiences with his ex-ROOT friend had shown him how horrible someone's past was if they had that smile on their face.

His stomach churned up. The last time they met, he hadn't been able to ask her about her past. What had Haku suffered in her childhood to make her like this…?

"Heeey, Naruto-kun? Are you all right?"

Naruto snapped back to reality, and realizing Haku was looking at him with a confused expression. He smiled awkwardly. "Ah, nothing… I was just thinking about something…" Then he looked around, trying to find something else to talk about. "Hey, those herbs… Are they for you?"

Haku shook her head. "No, it's for someone who is very important to me."

_Zabuza, _Naruto thought. "Um… your parent, I guess?"

The girl let out another smile. But this time, Naruto could swear it was the most genuine smile he'd ever seen. It was full of happiness. "No, but… in some ways, he's like a father to me. He has raised me since I was a child."

She didn't say anything else, but Naruto knew she was telling the truth. Being an orphaned himself, he understood the happiness of having someone who cared for him, even if it was only for their own benefit.

No wonder why Haku loved Zabuza so much.

Haku stood up, and grabbed her basket. "Oh, I have to go now, Naruto-kun. It's so nice to meet you. I hope someday we will see each other again."

Naruto stared after the retreating back of the girl, murmured.

"Yeah… I hope so too, Haku-chan…"

* * *

><p>"Gato-sama! We've found the profiles of those two ninja Tazuna hired!"<p>

Gato looked at the two sheets of paper on his desk, his eyes narrowed.

Kakashi Hatake… If what the paper said was true, that man would be the infamous Copy Ninja, the man who possessed the power of the Sharingan, and was rumored to have copied over a thousand jutsu. That ninja would give even Zabuza a hard time in a battle, even if the missing-nin was in full condition. And together with him was Kurenai Yuuhi, the Genjutsu Mistress of Konohagakure.

Those two… Together, they might be able to spoil his plan of taking down Tazuna, and crushing the spirit of all citizens in the Land of Waves once and for all. He had to do something…

His eyes caught the bounty on the two ninja's head, and his mouth twisted into an evil grin.

"Spread the rumor that Zabuza Momochi, the Devil of the Hidden Mist, Kakashi Hatake, the Copy Ninja of the Sharingan, and Kurenai Yuuhi, the Genjutsu Mistress of Konohagakure were spotted in the Land of Waves. Make sure that it reaches **that** man."

When the thug was out of the room, Gato started to cackle. No one would get in the way of the CEO of Gato Company.

* * *

><p>Today was Team 8's shift of guarding Tazuna at the construction zone. However, Kurenai had wanted to teach Kiba and Shino some more about cooperating attacks, so Kakashi, Sasuke and Sakura had volunteered of taking their shift instead. Sasuke because his training didn't require him to stay in one place, and Sakura because she wanted to escape from the hell training of Kakashi for a day.<p>

But when they reached the bridge, a horrible scene unveiled in their eyes.

All the workers in the construction zone were murdered brutally. Blood covered the half-completed bridge, and corpses littered around.

Mist started filling the air.

"He's here," Kakashi said, and the three genin tensed up, their hands reached their weapon pouches.

From inside the mist, the familiar form of Zabuza emerged.

"Hello Kakashi. We meet again."

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Wow. 6000 words? This is the longest chapter I've ever written!**

**Basically, Madara (the real one) was messing with everyone's life. Yeah, even in the afterlife. The bastard.**

**Now everyone knows what will happen when Kakashi finally gets serious in training his genin.**

**And someone's true gender was revealed. **

**Next time in Once More: The battle on the bridge!**

**Please rate and review!**


	9. Chapter 9: Clash on the Big Bridge

**Chapter 9: Clash on the Big Bridge**

"Zabuza," Kakashi mouthed, pulling his hitai-ate up, revealing his Sharingan. "So finally you decided to show yourself? I thought you would know better and hide your ass in some corner after that fight in the forest."

"You're just lucky during that battle that I didn't have my full strength," Zabuza sneered. "But this time you're not that fortunate. Today I'm not alone."

He waved his hand, and the fake hunter-nin from before appeared from inside the thick mist. Kakashi's eyes narrowed.

"So that hunter-nin really was your accomplice…"

"Finally realized it, huh?" Zabuza smirked under his bandage. "But it's too late now. Haku, go."

Without any word, Haku dashed forward, aiming at the bridge builder and the three genin, senbon ready on hand.

And she was stopped by Sasuke, who jumped in her way and delivered a rolling kick to her face. Naturally, with her incredible reflex, Haku easily stopped midrun and blocked the kick.

Zabuza's eyes narrowed. _That brat can follow Haku's speed?_

"Surprise, huh, Zabuza? But your opponent is me, not him."

Zabuza's eyes darted back, right in time for him to block Kakashi's swing of his kunai on his exposed neck. His maniacal grin couldn't be seen as it was hidden under the bandages.

"Coming right at me, eh Kakashi? But when you do that…" he formed a hand seal with his free hand, "…what will happen to the bridge builder and your little genin, I wonder?"

Four water clones of Zabuza rose up from the ground, surrounding Sakura, Hinata and Tazuna. Their swords were raised high, ready to strike down at the seemingly defenseless people.

But Kakashi just chuckled.

"I told you Zabuza, you have underestimated my genin too much."

Four sickening thuds, and the clones collapsed back into water.

Sakura stood firm in front of Tazuna and Hinata. Her right clenched fist was soaking wet.

"Wow," she muttered in shock. "Did I just do what I think I did?"

_She __**punched **__through my water clones?!_

"See that Zabuza? We didn't spend the last week doing nothing like you did."

If it hadn't been for the mask hiding his mouth, people would have seen the triumphant smirk on Kakashi's face. Zabuza gritted his teeth.

"Well, I admit that your genin have developed quite nicely during the last week…"

But suddenly, his mouth morphed into a deadly grin under the bandage.

"…but you are too naïve to think that only you have improved!"

Zabuza jumped away from Kakashi, while weaving through hand seals in a much faster speed than he did before. Both of Kakashi's eyes widened.

_Oh shit!_

He also started going through hand seals, but Zabuza had nearly completed his own.

There's no time to copy Zabuza's jutsu. He had to use another one…

"WATER STYLE: WATER DRAGON!"

"WATER STYLE: WATER SHARK BOMB!"

The two creatures made of water slammed into each other and exploded, making a torrent which poured down everyone's head.

Sasuke's eyes widened when Haku formed a seal with her free hand.

"Everyone! Be caref…"

"Too late! Water Style: Thousand Needles of Death!"

All the water falling down suddenly stopped midair and turned into needles, all aiming right at Tazuna, Hinata and Sakura. And worse, they're everywhere. From behind… In front… At sides…

The deadly projectiles shot at the three people. There was no way for them to dodge.

"Earth Style: Mud Wall!"

Moving as fast as he could, Kakashi appeared in front of the three and slammed his hands on the ground. A wall of mud rose around everyone, covering them completely from the needle assault.

_Damn it… Even when separated, they can still assist each other effectively… And with Tazuna here - _he grimaced while stealing a glance at the bridge builder – _we're in a serious disadvantage…_

His train of thought was interrupted when Zabuza's Kubikiribocho sliced through the earth wall.

"This is not the time for you to sit there and daydream, Kakashi!"

_Fuck! _was the only thought of Kakashi when he raised his kunai to block the deadly sword descending on his head. He grunted when the heavy blade clashed with the kunai, letting out a loud 'clang'.

If this continued, everyone would be killed. He must do something…

The plan in his head right now was nothing but insanity… but if there was nothing they could do…

"Sasuke! Code 135!"

Sasuke's eyes widened. In Konohagakure's Shinobi Handbook, Code 135 was the order for luring enemies away from the battlefield. It meant that Kakashi wanted him to separate that hunter-nin and Zabuza.

But that also meant he had to take on that hunter-nin alone.

His mouth twisted into a smirk. This was the chance for him to prove himself against a powerful opponent.

"Fire Style: Fire Ball Jutsu!"

The signature jutsu of the Uchiha clan was launched at Haku at a surprisingly mediocre speed. The hunter-nin's eyes narrowed.

_Is this a joke? _She took a step aside, and the ball of fire flew past her without even touching her sleeve.

But then she startled when Sasuke suddenly appeared right in front of her, his fist cocked back.

_So fast!_

Haku raised her hand to block the incoming punch, but a kick immediately followed, sending her tumbling. She staggered back, but the boy didn't stop his assault there. Haku was, by no means, bad at taijutsu, but she still found that she was being pushed further and further away from Zabuza.

_So their aim was to separate us… _Haku narrowed her eyes under her mask. She pulled out a senbon from her sleeve while blocking another kick from Sasuke. "It seems I have to finish you fast…"

"Just try," Sasuke smirked. "From now on, you will be the one who has to run from my attacks."

* * *

><p>Naruto yawned and opened his eyes.<p>

Bright, warm sunlight sneaked into the room through the cracks on the windows. It was a nice morning.

He winced as pain wracked through his head.

'_Ugh… my head hurts… What happened?'_

'_**Do you even need to ask, onii-chan?' **_the voice of Saikyo echoed through his mind. _**'You exhausted your own chakra last night to the very last drop! Do you know how dangerous that was? If it hadn't been for us inside you, you would have died!"**_

The slug's voice was full of irritation. Never before had Naruto heard her speaking in a tone like that. It's just like the voice of an angry mother when her child did something bad. Naruto chuckled.

'_Eh, don't worry Saikyo-chan. I do that all the time, you know, and I still live! How bad can it be?' _Then he changed the topic, ignoring the slug whose cheeks seemed to be puffing out angrily. _'Say, where did everyone go? The house seems to be awfully quiet.'_

'_**It's nine already, idiot,' **_Shukaku deadpanned. _**'Everyone has already gone for training and guarding the old man at the bridge. The only ones home right now are the lady and that Inari brat.'**_

A feeling of dread suddenly swept through Naruto's stomach. _What happened? It feels just like I've forgotten something very important…_

Then he heard a crash in the kitchen below.

* * *

><p>Inari screamed vengeance, charged at the two rogue swordsmen head first, and got replaced by a log, which was cut into pieces.<p>

Naruto, carrying the boy by his waist, grinned foxily.

"You know, being a hero doesn't mean you have to rush in recklessly like that."

Next to his feet, Tsunami was lying, still unconscious but wasn't harmed in anyway. Inari's eyes widened in surprise and relief.

"N-Naruto…"

"So you're one of those losers called ninja that old bag hired, huh?" one of the thugs smirked. "Taking you back with us surely will give us some pretty bonus." He took a step forward, and drew his sword.

But Naruto just waved his hand. "Look behind you first."

The two looked behind, only to see two planks smashed hard at their faces. They slumped down, fainted.

"Take that, idiots." Naruto and his two clones grinned cheekily.

Loud footsteps rose from behind him. He turned back, and saw Kurenai, Shino and Kiba running towards him. The red-eyed jonin only needed a glance to understand what had just happened. She looked at Naruto.

"They're from Gato's, right? If they dare to attack a civilian house like this place, it must be for hostages. It seems Tazuna-san is also in danger right now."

"Then let's go help Kakashi-sensei and the other!" Kiba pumped his fist into the air. Everyone nodded in agreement.

"Oh, and Inari," Naruto remembered. "Sorry about that slap earlier. You really are strong! I'm proud of you!" He gave the boy a thumb-up. "We're going to the bridge to help your grandpa. Can we count on you here?"

"Of course, Naruto-niichan!" Inari said with a grin full of tears. Naruto turned back to everyone.

"All right," he muttered. "It's hero time."

* * *

><p>Ice Style: Demonic Crystal Ice Mirrors. The ultimate technique of Haku. It creates a dome of mirrors which traps her enemy inside, and which Haku can move freely between so fast normal eyes cannot hope to catch a glimpse. Combining it with her incredible skill in senbon throwing, almost no enemy can escape death when facing her.<p>

And now, Sasuke Uchiha was being trapped inside the dome of mirrors.

Kakashi's eyes narrowed when the dome of ice formed at the other side of the half-built bridge. _What is that jutsu…?_

"Worried about your student, eh Kakashi?" The mocking voice of Zabuza rose as if the man himself had read Kakashi's mind. "You should be, because no one will ever get out of Haku's jutsu alive."

Kakashi's spine froze. _What?_

"Furthermore…" The smirk of Zabuza widened even more under the bandages, "…I think you should save that worrying for your _other _students."

Realizing what Zabuza had just said, Kakashi yelled. "Sakura! Hinata! Stay alert, there might be…"

"Too late."

From behind the two girls and the bridge builder, the Demon Brothers descended down on their heads, their claws raised high.

* * *

><p>"Damn it."<p>

Naruto turned to the red-eyed kunoichi who had just cursed. "What's wrong, Kurenai-sensei?"

"I just remembered that there has been no news of the Demon Brothers since we defeated them on the way to Waves," Kurenai muttered. "If they are able to join Zabuza, I really cannot say what will happen."

Naruto's heart jumped. In his timeline, Kakashi defeated those two in one hit, and they hadn't been heard again since then. But what if they showed up again this time…?

'_**I don't understand why you're so scared,' **_he heard Isobu snorting. _**'During my time in Kirigakure, I hadn't even heard of them. With those cannon fodders, how bad can it be?'**_

'_**Speaking of Kirigakure,' **_Kurama added, _**'you always say that you will save Haku and Zabuza, but do you have any plan of how to do that?'**_

'_Nope!' _

The thought of Naruto was too cheerful to be a denial. Kurama facepalmed.

'_**Why do I always have idiots as my jinchuriki…?'**_

'_Hey, I'm not that bad!'_

'_**Nah, don't worry. They'll become your friends after you beat their asses off. Maybe some full power chakra beams of total destruction will help.' **_Chomei waved him off.

Everyone stared at the beetle.

'_**What? That's how magical girls do when they want to befriend someone!'**_

Naruto silently made a vow to never let Chomei and his children in the future go anywhere near manga or anime when they're together.

* * *

><p>It turned out that Isobu was too optimistic.<p>

The Demon Brothers, though not being as powerful as jonin like Kakashi or Kurenai, were still at chuunin level. Cannon fodders or not, they're still forces that would give genin a hard time fighting.

And facing them right now was Hinata, who was a shy girl who didn't like fighting, and Sakura, a still-fangirl who had just started training seriously for about a week.

Obviously, that didn't go so well.

Had it not been for Hinata's Byakugan, which has the ablility to see everything around their user, the two girls and the bridge builder would have been killed.

Tazuna being there put them in another severe disadvantage. Being a mere civilian, standing in the middle of a ninja battle means putting yourself in danger of being killed or maimed brutally. The fact that he was the reason for that ninja battle didn't help, either.

Therefore, what seemed to be the battle between the two missing-nins and the two genin kunoichi was only the two kunoichi jumping and rolling and running around, trying desperately to avoid the ruthless assault coming from the huge gauntlets of the two masked ninja while holding the bridge builder out of their reach.

Some kind of gross purple liquid was dripping menacingly from the claws onto the ground. Whatever it was, Sakura wouldn't want to touch it. Or let it touch her.

She jumped back, pushing Tazuna out of the way when the deadly poisonous claw aimed right at the bridge builder's face again.

_I'm scared… _Sakura thought, her legs trembled. _I'm not as good as Naruto or Sasuke-kun… Am I gonna be killed here?_

She could feel fear starting creeping into her spine. It's not like she couldn't fight, but all the battles before were just normal sparring between classmates or teammates.

She had never had a real fight in her life. Her fists had power, but that's all they had. All the training from Kakashi only helped her increase the strength of her body, not her battle experience. And right now, she was facing an enemy with a weapon designed to kill.

_What am I going to do now…?_

Luckily for her, she didn't have to do anything.

* * *

><p>"What's the matter little girl?" one of the missing-nins taunted while swiping at Hinata's face. "Too scared to even fight back a little?"<p>

Yes, Hinata was scared. **Of course **she was scared. This was the first time she had to face an enemy alone. The last time, she had had Kurenai-sensei and her friends Kiba and Shino next to her, always ready to back her up. Right now, Sakura had her own enemy to deal with, and behind her was a trembling bridge builder she had to protect with her life.

This time, she was all alone. No one was here to help her. Even if there was someone… she would be dead before they arrived.

"Hinata!"

The girl startled when Kakashi's voice reached her ears.

"You are not weak!" The Sharingan master yelled while struggling against Zabuza's huge sword. "You just don't want to fight because you don't like hurting people! But if you continue holding back, someday you won't be able to even protect the ones you love!"

Hinata's eyes widened. _The ones I love…_

00000

_(Flashback)_

_Hinata let out a deep sigh after finishing her basic kata for Juuken. She relaxed her body, and sat down on a log nearby. _

_The training sessions of Kakashi during the week were nothing but brutality. The jonin had forced them to push through their limits, and although it hurt a lot, their bodies all became stronger, faster and more flexible than before. _

_However, whenever it came to sparring, Hinata was still the worst. Her attacks, without applying chakra, were just harmless slaps. She just couldn't steel her heart enough to use Juuken on another person, let alone on her friends when they trained. Her mind and her soul just weren't ready for hurting people._

_Today, Kakashi-sensei had told her that she could take a rest. She was even excused from guarding duty at the construction zone. Never before during the week had the jonin allowed anyone to rest like that._

_She thought of everything that happened. She thought of how useless she was during the fight with Zabuza in the forest. Could it be that... because of that, Kakashi-sensei didn't want her to fight any more? Could it be that… she was too weak… she was not material of kunoichi at all… just like everyone said…?_

_Unable to hold herself together any more, Hinata burrowed her face on her hands, and started crying._

"_Hinata-chan?"_

_The girl almost jumped when Naruto's voice rose right next to her ear._

"_Na-Naruto-kun!" she squeaked, wiping her eyes quickly with her sleeve, but the damage was already done; the blond stared at her tearful face and frowned._

"_What happened Hinata-chan? Why are you crying? Did someone hurt you?"_

"_No… no… it's… it's just… it's nothing…" She tried to scurry away from the boy, but all her efforts were in vain; Naruto grabbed her arms and pulled forcefully so that they were facing each other._

"_Hinata-chan, you cannot lie to me. It's clear to me that you're sad about something. Please tell me; I'll help you if I can. I don't want to see you crying like this." _

_Blue stared into white, and for a second, Hinata felt like something broke inside her. She broke into tears again; warm, salty drops drenched her coat. _

"_I… I can't do it!" she said between sobs. "I cannot fight at all! Whenever I try to do something good, I end up being everyone's nuisance! Everyone was right! I'm just too weak! I don't deserve to be a ninja! I… I…"_

_Too busy crying, she didn't notice she had slumped onto Naruto's chest, wetting his shirt in process. She could hear someone called her name, "Hinata-chan… Hinata-chan…" but she didn't care. After letting out all her frustration, pain and despair, she thought the world was going to collapse around her._

"_HINATA HYUUGA YOU ARE GOING TO LISTEN TO ME RIGHT NOW!"_

_Hinata was so shocked she stopped crying. _

"_N-Naruto-kun…?"_

"_Hinata," Naruto said, and Hinata realized he didn't use the usual honorific. "I don't believe you are weak. I remember during the academy, you're one of the best girls in our class! How could you say you're weak?"_

"_But I…"_

_Naruto didn't let her finish the sentence. "Hinata, I know you don't like hurting people, but in the future, there will be some times you have to. When you're alone and your comrades are all disabled, who will protect them if you stubbornly refuse to fight like that?"_

_Then he chuckled. "Besides, fighting isn't always bad. I used to be like you, but then I realized that some times I have to fight to protect the people I love. I remember when I first used the Shadow Clone Jutsu to protect Iruka-sensei from Mizuki… It makes me feel more powerful than ever! So there, don't hesitate when you have to fight to protect someone! Especially if they're good people who are in need of your help!"_

_Hinata was stunned. Never before had she considered that possibility._

_Or had she? Could it be that she __**had **__thought about it, but dismissed it because it contradicted her ideal? _

_Since the Kumogakure incident, she had despited fighting; she thought that because her father fought and killed the Kumogakure shinobi, her uncle Hizashi had to die. And since then, she had become scared of everything. The idea that hurting and killing people was bad was planted firm into her head, and made her a shy girl who never wanted to fight others. She stubbornly thought that if she fought, it would only lead to other people's suffering._

_And Hinata suddenly felt ashamed. Naruto-kun, the boy she admired and loved, the one who had suffered from abuses during his childhood, in which she observed but couldn't do anything to help, had always thought of fighting to protect others, while she, a girl born into the mighty Hyuuga clan, had refused to fight only to run away from her past. _

"_Naruto-kun…"_

_(End Flashback)_

00000

"No! I will not run away any more!"

A palm full of chakra slammed at Meizu's stomach, and suddenly he felt a sharp pain, as if a knife had just been shoved into his navel. He gasped, stumbling back.

"What the…?"

"I will not let you harm Tazuna-san, or Sakura-san! You're within my divination!"

Meizu lifted his head, and finally saw what he couldn't see earlier behind the thick mist screen.

A pair of pure white eyes.

"No… You're… Hyuuga…"

"Two palms!"

Fingers poked his shoulders, and Meizu felt his arms becoming numb.

"Four palms!"

Finger poked him again, and now his legs couldn't move. It's just like all his energy was sealed up completely in those limbs.

"Eight palms! Sixteen palms! Eight Trigrams… Thirty-two Palms!"

Meizu's eyes rolled back into his head, and he slumped on the ground, fainted. Standing over his body was Hinata, whose white eyes were full of power and determination.

_Thank you Naruto-kun… I finally understand what you said… We will become strong when we use our powers to protect others…_

"You bitch! What have you done to my brother?!" Gozu, who was fighting Sakura, howled like a wounded animal. He abandoned his opponent and jumped at Hinata, who had just deactivated her Byakugan, making her unable to see him advancing towards her from behind.

"Die!"

"FANG OVER FANG!"

From nowhere, the combination jutsu of Kiba and Akamaru slammed at Gozu, sending him flying away. He struggled to stand up, but his eyes widened, and he collapsed into another heap on the ground.

Kurenai smiled after successfully putting the missing-nin into a blissful sleep with a genjutsu.

"Hinata, you did great. I'm very proud of you."

* * *

><p>Kakashi grimaced. He didn't have to move anywhere to see that Sasuke was screwed horribly.<p>

Since the dome of ice was erected, Sasuke had been overpowered completely. Not only he couldn't even touch Haku any more, he also became the free dummy for the fake hunter-nin to practice throwing senbon. It was only through pure luck, or something Kakashi didn't know about, that Sasuke didn't become a human-shaped pin cushion.

Luckily for him, Kurenai and her team had arrived and disposed of the blasted Demon Brothers quickly. Kakashi let out a sigh in relief. Now the bridge builder had protection.

"Kurenai! You and your team, lead Tazuna-san out of here, now! I will hold Zabuza off!"

Kurenai, as a veteran jonin, didn't need to be asked twice. Leaving civilians in the middle of a ninja battle is never a good idea, especially when that civilian is your own client. She nodded at her team, and the four ninja together with Tazuna ran back the trail they arrived from, away from the battlefield.

Now there was only the problem with Sasuke…

He jumped away from another deadly slash of Zabuza, and threw a kunai at the ice dome. The knife whizzed through the air, aiming at the mirror containing the image of the masked hunter-nin…

…only to be caught easily by the ninja who emerged from the mirror.

_Damn it…_

And he felt a blur of orange flew past him.

The hunter-nin was knocked out of the mirror with a very hard kick to the face. And Naruto landed on the bridge with a loud "thud".

"Hello guys. What did I miss?"

* * *

><p>'<em><strong>Nice entrance there, dude.' <strong>_Gyuuki duly noted.

'_I know.' _Naruto answered with a smug grin. He turned to Sasuke, who was now slumping inside the mirror dome.

'_**Ouch. That must have hurt,' **_Goku winced when he saw the boy's body, now looking like a porcupine. _**'Human's body wasn't supposed to look like that.'**_

"Hey teme!" Naruto called into the dome. "Why didn't you just, like, Body Flicker out of that dome instead of just standing there to take all those needles?"

Sasuke yelled out. "You think I hadn't thought of that?"

"Because he cannot."

A kick to the ribs sent Naruto flying into the dome.

"Ow!" Naruto screamed when he landed face first inside the ice dome. "What's the big idea, hitting me when I was talking?"

"And why do you think he won't, idiot?" Sasuke gritted his teeth. "Look out!"

A senbon flew past them, effectively shutting both boys up when Sasuke frantically pushed Naruto away.

"Inside my Crystal Ice Mirror, I am the fastest," Haku said, pulling out another senbon from her sleeve. "No movement of yours can escape my eyes, and Body Flicker won't help you escape my senbon."

Naruto blinked. "You just… explained your jutsu to us. I don't get it. Why do powerful ninja always have to explain their jutsu to enemies?"

Haku shrugged inside her mirror.

"Enough with this!" Sasuke roared. "If these mirrors is what give you advantages, then all we have to do is destroying them!"

He went through hand seals. "Fire Style: Fire Ball Jutsu!"

The ball of fire blasted from his mouth, and did nothing to the mirrors. "Damn it!"

"My mirrors cannot be melted by normal fire alone. Your efforts were all in vain."

And the two boys were skewered with a rain of senbon. Again.

It had been too long since the last time Naruto experienced this for him to remember how **hurt **this was.

"Ow."

'_**That was the greatest understatement of the year,' **_Shukaku flatly noted.

'_Oh come on! That's the only thing you could say, Shukaku-chan?' _Naruto yelled in his mind._ 'You could have helped me with something, like that auto protection thing you gave Gaara!'_

'_**Don't 'Shukaku-chan' me!' **_The raccoon snapped. _**'And that protection power is of Gaara's mother, not mine, so don't get your hope up.'**_

_Okay Naruto, don't panic… What did I do the last time I fought her…?_

The last time, he blasted everything away with Kurama's chakra.

_No, that won't work. That's just too overkill, I might end up blowing the whole bridge up. I have to try something else…_

'_**Wind.'**_

Naruto was sure he had just heard Matatabi muttering.

'_Huh?'_

'_**Sasuke has fire jutsu. Use your wind jutsu to boost the fire up; it will be able to melt the ice mirrors.'**_

Naruto's eyes widened. He had completely forgotten of collaboration jutsu.

He didn't have access to his Rasenshuriken right now, but Kakashi-sensei had just taught him a wind jutsu two days ago. He still hadn't perfected it completely, but it would be enough.

"Hey Sasuke, I got a plan. Try your fire jutsu again."

"Huh?" Sasuke narrowed his eyes. He had just tried it and it didn't work, then why…?

Then he saw Naruto performing hand seals, and understood immediately. He grinned, and started to weave through his own seals.

"Together, yeah?" Naruto grinned back. Sasuke nodded.

The two sets of hand seals were completed at the same time.

"FIRE STYLE: FIRE BALL JUTSU!"

"WIND STYLE: GREAT BREAKTHROUGH!"

And the two jutsu combined did what one alone had not. Haku had to jump out of the mirror she was standing in right before the inferno rushed through it and vaporized half of the ice dome.

_What… what power…?_

"ORYAAAAAAAAA!"

Haku's eyes widened under her mask when the figure of Naruto bursted right through the flame. His right knuckle slammed at Haku's mask, shattering it, revealing her beautiful face.

_I'm sorry Zabuza-sama… I have failed you…_

Everything around her went dark.

* * *

><p>"Why are you doing this?"<p>

The question of Kakashi almost caught Zabuza off guard.

"I really don't understand you, Zabuza," the cyclops continued. "You're the leader of the riot against the Fourth Mizukage one year ago, right? Why would a ninja who did such an honorable thing stoop so low to work with a scum like Gato?"

"I don't have to explain my way of working to you." Zabuza snarled.

"You are a fool, Zabuza," Kakashi stated while deflecting another slash of the swordsman. "After your failure at assassinating Yagura, you left Kirigakure, left all your comrades to run away alone. As far as I know, right now they're still fighting, even without your help. Do you think running away like that will help you bring freedom to Kirigakure? And now you affiliate yourself with a scum like Gato… That's just too sad. Do you really think that Gato will help you after you kill Tazuna for him?"

Killing intent suddenly spiked around Kakashi.

"Shut up! I will not listen to you any more!"

Kakashi had to dodge and block frantically when his surrounding was suddenly bombarded with a furious barrage of slashes.

_Sorry Naruto… _Kakashi thought while pulling out a scroll from his pocket. _It seems I failed to help you convince Zabuza… But what must be done has to be done._

* * *

><p>Naruto stood triumphantly over Haku's body. His own body was riddled with senbon wounds, but there was nothing his healing factor couldn't fix.<p>

Behind him, Sasuke was plucking the senbon off his body.

"You shouldn't do that. You might bleed to death." Naruto noted.

Sasuke looked at him and scowled. "This was nothing."

Then Naruto noticed Sasuke's eyes. "Oh, so you got your Sharingan, huh?"

Sasuke smirked. "Yeah. It must have activated during the battle. Now I'm not gonna lose to you any more."

Naruto grinned back. "Oh. I'm waiting for our next spar."

Then he heard the sound of a thousand birds chirping at the other side of the bridge. His eyes widened.

_Oh no! Kakashi-sensei is going to kill Zabuza!_

Everything flew away from his head immediately. Kakashi-sensei had promised him that he would try to convince Zabuza…

"Kakashi-sensei! Stop!" He screamed, but his voice was unheard. The jonin was running towards Zabuza full speed; his right fist was full of blue crackling electricity. Five more steps and Zabuza's heart would be pierced.

There was no time. Normal Body Flicker wouldn't help him reach them in time. He had to do it.

'_Kurama! Please lend me your chakra!'_

'_**Wait! What are you trying to do?' **_Kurama yelled when her chakra was pulled on rather forcefully, and started to form into Naruto's familiar golden Chakra Shroud.

Three more steps.

With a kick to the ground, Naruto flew towards the fighting ninja in a yellow flash, sending a cloud of dust on Sasuke's face, leaving him coughing hysterically. He had to reach them before Kakashi's Raikiri connected.

Two.

He wasn't gonna make it… He could arrive in time, but there's no time to stop Kakashi's hand.

One.

There was only one way…

He jumped into the way of Kakashi in front of Zabuza, and the whole lightning jutsu was shoved right into his own chest.

* * *

><p>Everyone was utterly shocked.<p>

Yes, everyone. Sasuke. Sakura. Kakashi. The Tailed Beasts. Even Zabuza.

Kakashi was the first one snapping out of his stupor.

"Naruto!" he screamed, hastily pulling his hand out of his student's chest, but before he could do anything else for the boy, the blade of Zabuza had been swung at his neck, and obviously, it was going to cut through Naruto's body, too.

And Kakashi saw red.

CLANG!

The giant blade was stopped dead on its track by the metal plate on Kakashi's glove. His eyes were both locked at Zabuza's face with a glare full of hatred.

A flick of his arm, and Kubikiribocho was yanked out of Zabuza's hand. The blade flew into the sky, spun wildly and stabbed into the bridge with a loud "thud".

Kakashi gently put Naruto down on the hard, cold concrete surface, and stood up, grasped the handle of the giant blade and snarled in a cold voice.

"I gave you a chance to back down Zabuza, and you ruined it. Now prepare to face the consequences."

Never before had Zabuza felt such a fear. Even before when he had faced Yagura, the Sanbi jinchuriki couldn't even compare to this ridiculous murderous intent from Kakashi right now. He tried to move, but his limbs felt like they had petrified.

"Kakashi-sensei… Don't do it…"

The voice of Naruto coming from behind him made Kakashi stop. He turned back, and saw the boy standing up shakily. The wound in his chest was closing up quickly, and in two seconds, there was no trace of it left except a gaping hole in his shirt.

"Why…?"

That was the only word Zabuza could choke out. Naruto smiled sadly.

"Because I believe you are not a bad person, Zabuza-san. Kakashi-sensei told me your story… A person who risks his life to free his village from a tyrant cannot be a bad person. Besides, I have only met Haku-chan twice, but she told me that she had a precious person whom she considered her father. That was you, right Zabuza-san? I cannot let her last precious person be killed right in front of me. But hell, I think if she was awake, she would have done the same thing as me."

Zabuza's eyes widened. The girl he had rescued from a devastated bloodline family with the intent to train into a weapon… She thought of him so highly… And yet, he was here, always thought of her as a tool, a weapon for him to use…

He thought of everything Haku had done for him before. _No one _in his life had ever given him such a treatment.

The image of Haku standing in front of him, her bloody chest having a gaping hole and an arm piercing through, suddenly flashed through his mind. What the boy said was true. If Haku was awake, that would be the thing she would do.

He hung his head in shame. A drop of tear rolled down his cheek.

Since he first became a shinobi, he had been taught that shinobi were simply tools for other to use. They didn't have feelings such as love or regret. They simply were killing machines, created to work for people with enough money to pay them.

But right now… why was he shedding tears? Did that mean the Devil of the Hidden Mist still had feelings as a human?

More than ever, Zabuza wanted everything to stop.

"I surrender. Do anything you want."

And with that, the battle in the bridge was finished. Naruto let out a sigh of relief.

'_**Right now I really want to hit you for pulling such a stunt with your own body,' **_Kurama commented dryly, _**'but it seems you did a good job there, Naruto.'**_

That was an extravagant praise coming from the Nine-Tailed Vixen.

Kakashi looked at the blonde boy. A feeling of pride started blooming in his stomach.

_Naruto… You really are the son of Minato-sensei…_

He reached his headband, pulled it down to cover his Sharingan up. His work was done.

"Fire Style: Searing Migraine."

And suddenly, the whole bridge was lit up with fire.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Whew! Chapter 9 was finally here!**

**I'm truly sorry for the delay. The truth is, I didn't expect this chapter to take this long to write. I had too much work to do during the last two weeks, and the fighting scenes were somehow harder to illustrate in this chapter to me.**

**As usual, please review!**


	10. Chapter 10: Unexpected

**Hello everyone. Sorry for the long wait. I've returned, and here is your Chapter 10!**

**And thank you all for your reviews. I appreciate all the help I can get to make my story better.**

**To answer some of your questions:**

**ThomasNealy: I'm afraid I don't quite understand your question. Isn't that because Naruto wants to get back to his old level that he pushed himself to training? Like I said before, the time travel had nearly crippled Naruto's body, to the point that the only jutsu he could use effectively at the moment is the Shadow Clone Jutsu, which requires _almost _no chakra control at all. And about the Tailed Beast power, I have explained it in Chapter 8. So he has to train everything from the start, which is _not _an easy thing.**

**TigrezzTail: Yeah, this is actually how I view Hinata in the first part of the manga. I didn't think that Hinata was afraid of her family; it's just like, because of her soft personality, his father ignored her to choose Hanabi, who was more willing to fight than her, to train. It's not like Hinata was ever abused by her father, or her family in canon.**

**Krazyfanfiction1: Naruto's new power will be very interesting, I assure you. Just wait for it!**

**Now, enjoy the new chapter!**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 10: Unexpected<strong>

"Wha… what the heck just happened?" Naruto coughed out; the heat around him was making it hard to breathe. Had it not been for Kakashi and Zabuza, with their incredible reflex of jonin-level shinobi, conjuring walls of water around them right in time to protect the three of them, they would have been fried being hit by the fire blast directly.

"Leave it for later!" Kakashi yelled. "Are you all right, Sakura, Sasuke?"

"I'm alright!" The voice of Sakura rose up behind him.

"Haku!" Zabuza also screamed. "What about Haku? Is she okay?"

"Over here!" Sasuke's voice echoed through the fire screen. "She's safe with me!"

"WATER STYLE: WATER STREAM!" Zabuza bellowed, performing quick hand seals. A large stream of water blasted out of his mouth, which wasn't covered by bandages now, quickly extinguishing most of the sea of fire around them, leaving the bridge covered in a cloud of smoke.

A mixture of anger and fear suddenly riled up inside of Naruto. It was not from the boy himself, but from a certain Tailed Beast residing in him.

'_What's wrong Chomei-chan?! Settle down!' _Naruto asked in panic, trying his best to calm his beetle friend down.

'_**It's him.' **_The Seven-Tailed Beetle snarled in a tone completely different from her usual cheery voice. It was full of rage, and there was a hint of fear too. _**'I can never forget this chakra signature. This is the one who captured me and Fuu during our timeline!'**_

"Who had just attacked us? Show yourself!" Kakashi roared, pulling his hitai-ate up again. He was almost out of chakra, but this was a matter of life and death and no moment to be stingy.

From within the cloud of smoke, the masked figure of Kakuzu, missing-nin of Takigakure, stepped out.

* * *

><p>Chaos had broken out inside Naruto's belly.<p>

"**What the fuck? WHAT. THE. FUCK?" **Shukaku screamed, while running around hysterically in a speed quite fast for a chubby tanuki like her. **"Why does the Akatsuki decide to strike so soon?"**

"**Shukaku, calm down!" **Isobu snapped. Shukaku turned back and grabbed the turtle's head, pulling him close to her face.

"**Calm down?! You're telling me to CALM DOWN?! That man is a member of the Akatsuki, and right now we're stuck with a Naruto who doesn't have any useful jutsu, and cannot even use our power properly! We're dead!"**

"**Shukaku's right," **Gyuki said grimly. **"This is the man who single-handedly took down Chomei and her jinchuriki. If we have to face him right now, we're as good as dead. That's if there hadn't been any of his associations around…"**

"**No, I don't think we have to worry about that."**

Every head turned toward Kokuoh. **"What do you mean by that?" **Goku asked.

"**Look at him," **the horse answered calmly. **"If he's in the Akatsuki, he has to be wearing their signature cloud-shaped cloak, but now he's not. Therefore I assume that he's not in the Akatsuki… at least not yet, and we won't have to worry about his partners."**

"**But even so, he **_**will **_**be one of the Akatsuki, Kokuoh-nii," **Matatabi noted. **"He is still a very powerful enemy. And Naruto isn't prepared for an opponent like him."**

"**I know," **Kokuoh agreed. **"It seems his target wasn't Naruto, though…"**

* * *

><p>"Kakashi Hatake, the Copy Ninja, and Zabuza Momochi, the Devil of the Hidden Mist," Kakuzu drawled, cracking his neck menacingly. "It seems that midget didn't give me false information. But Kurenai Yuuhi, the Genjutsu Mistress is not here… No matter, I'll hunt her down later."<p>

"That bastard Gato…" Zabuza snarled. "I shouldn't have trusted him. To sell me out to the like of _you_…"

"You know him, Zabuza?" Kakashi asked; his eyes didn't leave the newcomer.

"Of course I know him!" the Mist shinobi growled. "He is Kakuzu, bounty hunter, and missing-nin of Takigakure. He is the one who is responsible for the death of Kushimaru, one of my teammates when I was still in the Seven Swordsmen!"

"Ah, I still remember that one," Kakuzu laughed cruelly. "Fifty million ryo bounty, not a bad little haul for a hunting day. But don't worry; your own bounty in the bingo book is not bad, either."

Sweat started to drip from Kakashi's eyebrow. If what Zabuza said was true, then they're facing someone who could take down a member of the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist single-handedly; and if he had killed Kushimaru Kuriarare, one of the most bloodthirsty members of the Seven Swordsmen of all people, only for the bounty, how many other powerful shinobi would that monster have hunted before, and after that?

There's no doubt that they're facing an incredibly powerful enemy. And right now, the only ones capable to fight on his side were two almost exhausted jonin.

"Can you still fight, Kakashi?"

Kakashi grimaced when Zabuza voiced the question he was having inside his own head.

"I can still hold out for a bit, but not for long," he answered.

"Great," Zabuza muttered. "Then you just stay there and look pretty; I'll take on that bastard alone."

"That's just suicidal, Zabuza," Kakashi noted. "Don't you see how powerful he is? He nearly turned all of us into barbecue with only one fire jutsu!"

"I know," Zabuza snarled. "But this is a matter of honor. This bastard will pay for messing around with members of the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist!"

He stood up, and brandished Kubikiribocho again. The blade of the gigantic sword gleamed as if agreeing with its wielder.

"How honorable," Kakuzu laughed; his laughter was dry and unamused. "That Kuriarare also said that before I killed him."

And Zabuza snapped. He leapt at Kakuzu in a surprisingly fast speed, and swung his sword so hard the only thing everyone could see was a black flash aiming at the Takigakure missing-nin's waist. And Kakuzu seemed to be too slow to dodge or to do anything else to stop the blade from cutting him in half.

"Die, bastard!"

But, much to Zabuza surprise and horror, the blade just slammed at Kakuzu's waist and stopped dead right there. He struggled to push on, but it didn't even budge.

_So… hard…_

"This is the best the Devil of the Hidden Mist can do? So pathetic."

Zabuza's eyes widened when his enemy cocked his fist back. Instinct told him to withdraw his sword and use it to shield himself right before the fist landed on his chest. Flesh and bones collided with steel, causing a deafening "clang" and sending Zabuza flying. The man slammed hard on the ground, bounced a few times and could only stop himself by stabbing the sword on the bridge surface.

Zabuza grimaced; both his arms felt numb and were shaking violently.

_What the… What kind of human is he…?_

His trend of thought was cut abruptly when Kakuzu covered their distance with just a leap, his fist cocked back again. Zabuza ducked and rolled away, right in time before the fist connected with the ground and made a small crater in hard concrete.

Screw ninjutsu; this guy's taijutsu was one of the most horrible Zabuza had ever seen. The only one he could think of who possessed something as powerful as this was Tsunade Senju, one of the Legendary Sannin.

_If taijutsu and kenjutsu don't work… how about ninjutsu?_

"Water Style: Giant Vortex!"

The dangerous water cascade surged up from under the bridge and crashed down on Kakuzu's head. The missing-nin was seemingly drowned under a ton of water dumping on his head.

"Ha! Take that… huh?!"

Much to his horror, Kakuzu walked out from under the raging jutsu, soaking wet, but completely unharmed.

"The power of that jutsu was impressive, Devil of the Hidden Mist. Your heart will make a good replacement, I must say."

Sweat rolled down from Zabuza's temples. He didn't understand what the bounty hunter meant when he said "replacement", but that couldn't be anything good. However, now he understood why Kushimaru Kuriarare was murdered so easily by this bastard. This enemy was way too powerful for him, no, for _anyone _to take on alone…!

Suddenly, a kunai soared past him, aiming right at Kakuzu's head. The missing-nin raised his hand to block, and the knife bounced off his skin harmlessly.

He just didn't expect the kunai to explode in his face.

At the same time, a hand grabbed Zabuza and pulled him back a safe distance.

"I thought you're not going to fight," Zabuza asked, and Kakashi answered him with a grin under his mask.

"Well, that's when I didn't have enough chakra, but now I have more than enough. Besides, I've promised Naruto that I won't let you die, and I'm keeping that promise."

Kakashi's body was now, literally, glowing with vibrant red chakra.

00000

_(One minute ago)_

"_What do you think you're doing, Naruto?" Kakashi asked when Naruto stood up, his hand holding a kunai._

"_Do you even have to ask?" Naruto stared at Kakashi as if he had lost his mind. "Zabuza is losing out there! We need to help him!"_

"_Are you out of your mind?!" Sasuke, who had just carried Haku out of the battlefield, yelled. "That man was a monster! Even I know when I am outmatched! If we go out there, we'll be killed for sure!"_

"_Well, if we don't, Zabuza will be killed!" Naruto retorted. Sasuke bristled._

"_I just cannot understand you, Naruto! What is that Zabuza to you, anyway? He's a murderer who had just tried to kill us! Why do we have to risk our life for him?"_

_Anger filled Naruto's head. He opened his mouth, ready to throw an insult to Sasuke's face…_

"_Naruto, as the leader of the team, I command you to settle down." The voice of Kakashi suddenly rose from behind him. Naruto snapped his head back._

"_But…"_

"_SETTLE. DOWN." _

_Naruto flinched when he looked at Kakashi's eyes. He gulped, and obediently obeyed the command._

"_This time I agree with Naruto, Sasuke," Kakashi continued. "Kakuzu is targeting me and Zabuza, and both of us are no match for Kakuzu. If we let Zabuza fight alone, we'll all be killed. We can only stand a chance if we cooperate with Zabuza. So I'll go out there, and you guys stay back. This is not a fight you can take part in."_

_He pulled out a soldier pill from his pouch, popped it in his mouth and stood up. "This is not much, but it will have to do…"_

_Then he felt Naruto tapped his shoulder._

_Suddenly, a rush of chakra surged through his body. It raged through every inch of his chakra pathway, but… it didn't hurt. It was… warm, and lively. And incredibly powerful, too. Kakashi felt his body refreshed completely, and stronger than ever._

"_Sensei," the boy behind him whispered. "Stay safe, and win for me. And sensei, five hearts."_

_Kakashi nodded, despite not understanding what the boy had just said. He stood up, and leapt towards Zabuza and Kakuzu._

_He didn't see Sasuke looking at Naruto with narrowed eyes._

00000

"So you're here to lend me your pity?" Zabuza scowled. It's obvious he wasn't thrilled with the idea of being saved by his enemy.

"You can kill me for that later, Zabuza," Kakashi answered. "But right now, what we must focus on is Kakuzu if we don't want to be killed."

"But what can we do?" Zabuza asked while glancing at Kakuzu, who was now coughing from sucking a bit of smoke into his lungs. "That bastard is just, like, invulnerable from all my attacks!"

"Don't worry, I already have an idea on how to beat him," Kakashi answered calmly, then frowned, "but first he needs to stop moving. I don't think my ninken can bind him to the ground like they did to you before..."

Zabuza grimaced, but then grinned.

"If that's the only thing you need, then consider it done."

* * *

><p>Kakuzu raised an eyebrow when Zabuza, once again, faced him alone.<p>

"I thought you have learnt your lesson and cooperate with Kakashi. It seems like you really want to die alone, huh?"

"I don't need the help of that copycat," Zabuza smirked. He brandished the Blade of Executioner again. "I will take you down with my own hands."

"Foolish little boy. Well, that's your own choice," Kakuzu shrugged. He made one hand seal. "Now die. Fire Style: Searing Migraine."

The deadly fire blast was aimed at Zabuza once more, but suddenly from nowhere, Kakashi emerged and slammed his hands on the ground.

"Earth Style: Mud Wall!"

The wall of earth sprouted from the bridge surface, effectively blocking the sight of Zabuza and Kakashi from Kakuzu's view, and the fire jutsu exploded harmlessly on it.

"Now… Hidden Mist Jutsu!"

The mist screen covered the whole bridge again, but this time, it was so thick that everyone on the bridge couldn't see something even if it was right in front of them.

But Kakuzu only laughed.

"You think that kind of child's toy can help you hide from me? Wind Style: Pressure Damage!"

_Wind Style?!_

A tornado much, much stronger than that wind blast of Naruto before exploded from Kakuzu's body, throwing all the genin off their feet and clearing the mist screen away. It also revealed a surprised Zabuza who had just got to Kakuzu's place with his sword crashing down at the Taki missing-nin. Naturally, he caught the blade with his hand just like before.

"This is getting old. But now, it's over."

The extremely powerful punch finally connected with a sickening "thud", and Zabuza let go of Kubikiribocho, coughed, and collapsed to the ground.

…and turned into water.

"...What?! A water clone?"

Another Zabuza was right behind him.

"Yes! Now, fly!"

With a mighty roar, Zabuza slammed the flat of his blade at Kakuzu's face, **hard**, and the bounty hunter was sent flying away like a baseball. His body soared across the sky about sixty metres, and fell into the water of the river with a loud "splash".

Everyone winced. Naruto facepalmed.

'_**Yeeeaaaahhhhhh! Home run!' **_Gyuki hollered inside Naruto's head.

"That's just humiliating," Sasuke noted. Sakura nodded in agreement.

"Yeah. Invulnerability or not, that** must** have hurt."

Kakuzu's head emerged from underwater. "You've done it, brat," he growled, pushing himself up on the water surface. "There's no way I'm going to hold back any more after this."

"Hold back this!" The voice of Zabuza suddenly rose up behind him. "Water Prison Jutsu!"

Kakuzu snapped his head back, but he was not fast enough; the water in the river around him rose up, forming a hard, spherical cage around him, effectively locking all his movement.

"Kakashi, now!"

From afar, Kakashi shot toward them like a bullet; his right hand was crackling with the familiar blue lightning of his trademark Raikiri.

Kakuzu's eyes widened in realization. The Zabuza who had just smashed him into the river was also a clone. The Hidden Mist Jutsu from before wasn't to hide Zabuza for the purpose of attacking; it was for him to make water clones to set up this trap.

SQUELCH!

The Lightning Blade pierced Kakuzu's chest cleanly with a gurgling sound.

"You think I didn't notice that?" Kakshi said while pulling his hand out of Kakuzu's chest. "You used a ninjutsu before you engaged us to harden your body to the point it was as hard as diamond. And after that, your body was impervious to Water ninjutsu. Only a powerful Earth Style jutsu can have that kind of effect. Sadly, even the most powerful Earth technique has a glaring weakness against Lightning. And unfortunately for you, I have a powerful technique of that very same element."

The Water Prison dissolved, and Kakuzu's body fell down and sunk into the river.

Kakashi and Zabuza looked at the body disappearing into the dark green water for a while. Then Zabuza spoke out.

"Is he really dead?"

Kakashi nodded. "He should have been. I'm very sure that I have taken out his heart when the Raikiri landed."

The two of them looked at each other.

"So… what now?"

"Nothing," Zabuza shrugged. "Gato betrayed me, so there is no reason for us to fight any more. Unless…" he suddenly grinned, "you still want to be killed for showing pity on me?"

Kakashi chuckled. "I appreciate your offer, but no thanks. I still have many things I want to do in my life."

He reached onto his headband, covering his Sharingan up again…

And his instinct screamed at him to get the hell away from the place he was standing.

"Zabuza! Look out!"

But his concern was redundant. Feeling the killing intent himself, Zabuza had jumped away right before the water exploded violently below his feet with a loud "BOOOM".

Emerging from underwater was Kakuzu, but he looked nothing like he had been one minute ago. His body was now taking a monstrous form with black tendrils piercing through his skin, forming grotesque tentacles on his back and below his neck. At the places where should have been his shoulders lay two strangely looking masks, and next to them, there were two gaping holes with the seemingly fragments of two other masks, from which a disgusting looking substance was leaking out.

_What… what kind of monster is he…?_

That was the thought both Kakashi and Zabuza was sharing. What looked like a mouth in Kakuzu's real face, which settled in the middle of the two masks, cracked open with a snarl.

"You two bastards destroyed two of my hearts… You will pay for it, with your own!"

_Two of my __**hearts**__!?_

Now Kakashi understood what Naruto meant when he said 'five hearts'. Because of having more than one heart, he couldn't be killed with a normal attack to the heart like other human beings.

The mouths of the two masks on his shoulders opened, and Kakashi suddenly felt a thrill of foreboding.

"Fire Style: Searing Migraine."/"Wind Style: Pressure Damage."

The two familiar jutsu were casted once again. But this time, wind amplified fire, and the firestorm created was much, much more powerful than the combination jutsu Naruto and Sasuke had done before.

"Water Style: Water Wall!" Zabuza cried out desperately, and a large wall of water was erected around the two shinobi, but the effect was just trivial; the raging flame swept across them, and the water barricade was only barely able to hold on.

In just a second, the river was bathed in a sea of fire. Kakashi let out a choking cough; the heat of the fire and the steam coming from the water under his feet were making it very hard to breathe.

Then suddenly, from inside the flame, tendrils shot out, aiming at Kakashi and Zabuza's faces.

"Fuck!" the two ninja cursed, swinging their sword and kunai to cut the black threads, but even more of them shot out, restraining their hands and tying them up completely.

Couldn't use jutsu any more, they could just stared helplessly when Kakuzu stepped out from behind the flame while cackling menacingly.

"Your hearts are mine!" he laughed like a psycho, while some more black threads sprouted out from his body and hovered in front of the two restrained shinobi, ready to impale them to rip their hearts out of their chests.

_Is this it, _Kakashi thought, closing his eyes, _is this the end of me? I still haven't fulfilled my duty with my team, with Naruto… I still haven't done anything to save Rin, and Obito…_

_Obito._

Kakashi's eyes snapped open again. How could he forget about it? He still had one more jutsu, which didn't require any hand seal…

But he still hadn't ever used it successfully before…

But there's no time to hesitate. If it didn't work, he would have to **make it work**.

He concentrated every last drop of chakra in his body. There was only one chance; he needed to put everything he had into it!

His Sharingan morphed into the pinwheel shape of the Mangekyo Sharingan.

"What… What is this?!" Kakuzu screamed in panic when a vortex appeared right in the middle of the fabric of space right on his chest and started sucking him into it. He struggled with all his might, but it was all in vain; one of his arms and the mask on that shoulder had been sucked completely into the black hole. The tendrils approaching Zabuza and Kakashi stopped abruptly on the air right when they're about to stab on their chests, and were slowly being dragged away from them.

Kakashi, meanwhile, started to feel an aching tingle in his left eye socket.

_Come on… Keep it going… Just a little bit more…_

"No! No! This is not happening! I'm immortal! Die!" Kakuzu screamed hysterically before his head was sucked into the black hole; a tendril was launched at Kakashi's heart, but missed, and stabbed the Sharingan master's stomach instead.

"Urgh!" The Konoha jonin cringed when the black spear impaled his stomach; his left eye snapped shut, and the black hole vanished, bringing half of Kakuzu's body into the alternate dimension. The only thing of Kakuzu remained in the battlefield was his legs and bits of the black threads in his body, which were now all sinking into the greenish water below them, releasing the two shinobi they had been binding.

Kakashi slumped down; the Mangekyo technique had drained him more than he had thought. Even being charged with chakra of the Kyuubi before, he could feel his body being exhausted to the core. He only had enough chakra to keep himself stable on the water surface.

For a while, the genin, Zabuza, and Kakashi himself, no one could utter a single word. They were all too appalled by the incredible jutsu Kakashi had just pulled out. Finally, Zabuza croaked.

"Is… is it over?"

Kakashi didn't bother to answer. Even if Kakuzu hadn't died, without his head he would never have been able to do anything to them any more. Besides, even if he could, there was no way Kakashi and Zabuza could handle another battle with him.

"Well well well, look what we have here. Seems like the famous Copy Ninja and the Devil of the Hidden Mist are not as powerful as people say now, huh?"

Everyone snapped their head back to find a blackglassed midget in a suit standing on the bridgehead; a battalion of thugs fully armed was standing behind him.

"Thank Kami for delivering you into my hands," Zabuza snarled. "You will die today for betraying me, Gato."

"Oh?" Gato smirked. "By you and what army?"

An arrow stabbing the ground right in front of his face answered him.

"How about this army?" A voice echoed in the air from the other side of the bridge. Gato looked up, and broke into sweat when seeing all citizens in the Land of Waves, with Inari leading, together with Team 8, standing there, weapons ready.

"Besides," the voice of Zabuza suddenly rose next to his ears, "who said that I need help to kill a bastard like you, Gato?"

Gato's arrogant smirk dropped like a rock, and he looked like he had just pissed himself.

"Uhhh… please don't kill me?" he whimpered.

"Too bad," Zabuza said, and with a swing of his sword, Gato became a dead body without its head.

Team 7 and everyone else sweatdropped when Zabuza continued to brutally mowing down the army of bandits.

"So… our work here is done?" Naruto asked.

"Yeah," Kakashi nodded. "Although I think we're not going back home for a while with the bridge being damaged like this…"

They looked back at the bridge. What looked like a nearly completed great bridge one day ago had become riddled with holes and burning marks, and littered with corpses.

No one saw a figure on a cliff afar warping away in a spiral vortex.

* * *

><p>Haku's eyes fluttered open.<p>

The first thing she knew was that she was facing a wooden ceiling, and that she was lying on a soft, comfortable bed.

And after realizing that, the first thing she wanted to do was to fall into her blissful slumber again. It was too long since the last time she slept on a bed. It was much, much more comfortable than the sleeping bag she usually used during her constant travel with Zabuza-sama.

Wait. Zabuza-sama.

Everything rushed back into her head with the might of a hammer blow.

She remembered the fight on the bridge, when she had been forced to use her most powerful jutsu, and the two boys from Konoha melted that most powerful jutsu with a combination of wind and fire, and she was knocked out by a punch to the face.

She bolted upright and looked around. She was in a small bedroom. Wooden walls. Small desk at the corner. Naruto-kun sitting on a chair next to the bed. Electric light bulbs on the ceiling.

Wait. Naruto-kun?

"Ah, Haku-chan, you're awake!"

Yes. Naruto-kun.

"Eep!" she yelped, unconsciously pulling the blanket covering her body up, muffling her voice in the process.

Despite being a powerful ninja, Haku was still a girl. And having a boy in her bedroom, well, not quite _her_ bedroom anyway, looking at her sleeping face…

Haku's face burned up dangerously, and she opened her mouth, ready to scream…

…only for a hand of Naruto muffling her before any sound could come out.

"Shhhhhh!" Naruto exclaimed in panic. "Don't scream; do you want Zabuza to castrate me? He has been trying to do that for a while after I said I would look after you when you slept!"

"Wait," Haku's eyes widened. "Zabuza-sama is still alive?"

"Of course!" Naruto gave her a foxy grin. "And he seemed to be quite worried about you, Haku-chan!"

The embarrassment was quickly replaced by a smile of relief and happiness. "Thank goodness…" Haku sighed.

Then she remembered. "Wait, Naruto-kun, where am I?"

"You're in Tazuna's house," Naruto answered. "Gato was dead, and you probably won't want to go back to his place anyway, so…"

Haku winced. She could still remember how she and Zabuza had tried to kill the bridgebuilder when they were coming back from Konohagakure.

"Why did you spare me?" she asked sadly. "We were trying to kill you back then. We are your enemies."

"Not anymore, Haku-chan," Naruto shook his head. "You only did that because of the contract between you and Gato. Now Gato died, all the conflicts between us are over. Besides," he chuckled, "Zabuza and Kakashi-sensei worked together to defeat Kakuzu, so it's a tie now, eh?"

Haku blinked. "Who is Kakuzu?"

"Oh yeah, you were fainted during their fight, right? Kakuzu was a bounty hunter who wanted to take Kakashi-sensei and Zabuza's heads! You should have seen how they fought together; it's totally awesome!" Naruto nodded.

Haku blinked again. This boy… just a few hours ago, she had just tried to kill him. And now, he's acting like they'd been friends for years.

Haku'd never had a happy childhood. When she was still a child, her father had killed her mother, and had also tried to kill her. And Zabuza-sama had rescued her, and since then she had become his weapon. She only existed to kill for him, to do anything he wanted her to do, nothing else. She never had a friend, and she didn't understand what it would feel to have a friend. Inside her mind, there was only Zabuza-sama, and she would do anything to satisfy him.

But now, having the blond boy in front of her talking to her casually with a huge grin on his face, she felt a strange sensation blooming inside her heart. It was… warm. Is this the feeling of having a… friend?

"But I don't deserve to be your friend," she voiced her thought unconsciously. "I… Kyah?"

Her voice was cut off abruptly by Naruto wrapping his arm around her waist.

"Silly Haku-chan," he grinned foxily. "I don't care whether you deserve to be my friend or not; the only thing I know is that I want you to be my friend, and that's enough for me to accept you. Now, stop moping around and come downstair to eat; everyone's waiting!"

Then he dragged her out of the bed, despite the poor girl's frantic struggling.

* * *

><p>Everyone was standing in front of the newly completed bridge.<p>

With the help of Zabuza and the shinobi of the Leaf, the bridge was completed in only a few days. And now, it was time to say farewell.

"I'll miss you, Naruto-niichan," Inari said while bawling into Naruto's shirt, which was now replaced as his old one had a hole on it during the battle. Naruto grinned, although his eyes also had a shed of tears.

"Don't worry, I'm sure we will meet again someday! Until then," he gave the boy a wink, "make sure you become strong to protect everyone here, promise?"

"Promise!" Inari answered with a huge grin on his face.

While the children sharing their tearful goodbye, Kakashi looked at Zabuza.

"So what are you going to do now?"

Zabuza shrugged. "I don't know. Maybe I'll try to lay low for a while. I'm starting to feel tired of all the meaningless fighting. Besides," he chuckled, "I have the duty of a father to fulfill now, after all."

He rubbed Haku's hair, who was now blushing from happiness and embarrassment.

"Oh?" Kakashi eyesmiled. "So the deadly Devil of the Hidden Mist has become a harmless puppy now thanks to a little girl, eh?"

"Say that again, and I'll show you harmless," Zabuza growled, though his voice was more playful than menacing.

Leaving the two adults there bickering, Haku walked towards Naruto and his friends. The others still cringed a bit when she got near them, but she let it slide. Obviously, it's not easy to forgive someone if she had just tried to kill them before.

"So, I guess it's goodbye now, huh?" Naruto looked at Haku's eyes and sighed.

"Yeah," Haku nodded. "It's sad I could only be your friend for a while…"

"Don't be silly," Naruto grinned. "Once a friend, forever a friend; haven't you heard that? Oh, maybe you don't, but don't forget it. Even if you're far away, you'll still be in my heart!"

Haku smiled. When she smiled for real, she looked so cute. "Thank you, Naruto-kun…"

Then she did something no one could ever expect. She grabbed his cheeks, and kissed him on the lips.

Naruto's brain went numb as if it was dumped into a pit full of ice.

Then he felt massive killing intent exploded behind him. He turned back, and saw Zabuza standing right next to him, Kubikiribocho raised high, and a demonic aura cloaking his body.

"You'd better run, brat."

Naruto didn't need to be asked twice.

'_**Well, at least this time your first kiss was not from a boy,' **_Kurama snickered inside his head.

'_Shut up, Kurama! Heeeelllppppp!'_

Meanwhile, Kiba and the others had to try their best to restrain Hinata when a similar demonic aura started flowing out of the white-eyed girl.

* * *

><p>"Good bye everyone!"<p>

"Good bye Konoha shinobi! Thank you so much for helping us!"

Eyes of everyone in the Land of Waves followed the back of the two Konoha shinobi teams until they disappeared behind the forest.

"Those children are awesome…" Tazuna murmured. "I can't believe ones so young could change people so much. The whole Land of Waves is united now, and it's all thanks to that boy."

"Yeah," Zabuza nodded. "They're just normal genin now, but I can see they will become legends in the near future."

"So what should we name this bridge anyway?" Someone in the back yelled. Tazuna shook his head.

"Don't worry everyone. I think I have found a perfect name for the bridge."

"What is it?" Someone asked loudly from the crowd. Tazuna grinned.

"The Great Naruto Bridge."

* * *

><p>"We've finally found you, Zabuza-san."<p>

Zabuza narrowed his eyes when the three ANBU of Kirigakure dropped down to the ground in front of him. He reached the hilt of Kubikiribocho on his back, but a masked shinobi in front of him raised his hand.

"Please wait, Zabuza-san. We're here to deliver a message from the new Mizukage."

"A new Mizukage, huh?" Zabuza mouthed. "So the revolution has finally succeeded. Tell me, what do you want from me?"

"The Mizukage invites you to return to Kirigakure, sir. She wants you to once again become the leader of the Seven Swordsmen. She promises if you return, all the bounty on your head which originates from Kirigakure will be erased completely." The ANBU pulled out a scroll from his shuriken pouch and handed it to Zabuza. "Here, sir, this will make everything clear."

Zabuza glanced at the ANBU warily, then received the scroll and opened it carefully.

It was, indeed, an official documentation from the Mizukage. It basically stated the same things the ANBU had just said: invitation to return to the village, forgiveness from the failed assassination, etc. But when he looked at the signature at the bottom of the letter, his eyes widened.

The name in the signature was Mei Terumi, with a tiny symbol of a heart at the tail of the last 'i'. She only used that signature in letters for her close people. The letter in his hand couldn't be of anyone else but her.

_Mei-chan…_

"Haku," he rolled the scroll closed, and looked at his newly adopted daughter, who was standing next to him, with a smile. "Get your luggage ready; we're going home."

* * *

><p><strong>And there you have it. The Wave arc is done. But what will happen after it? The Chuunin Exam?<strong>

**For anyone who was wondering, Fire Style: Searing Migraine is not an original jutsu of mine. According to wiki, it is the TV translation of Kakuzu's Katon: Zukokku, and I think that is one of the rare instants TV translated names sound cooler than the literal translations. Seriously, _Intelligent Hard Work_?**

**There is a reason why Kakashi was exhausted after using Kamui only once. In canon, the speed of Kakashi's Kamui improved dramatically over time. And together with it, the chakra cost for it seems to be reduced to the point Kakashi could use it a lot of times in only a few hours. So I came up with a theory that the chakra used for Kamui is spent on _maintaining _it, not on activating it. The faster the jutsu is executed and completed, the less chakra it costs. And this is the first time Kakashi uses Kamui, so obviously the speed of the jutsu is much slower than that in Naruto's timeline.**

**And this will not be the last time you see Haku and Zabuza in my story. Well, I wonder what will happen if Hinata and Haku meet each other again in the future :3.**

**And a bit of ZabuMei at the end. Yeah, I think it will be kind of cute if it actually happens in canon.**

**Please review :x**


	11. Chapter 11: Everything was Messed Up!

**Phew! Finally, Chapter 11 was finished!**

**To tell the truth, I didn't expect this chapter to be so hard to write. I had to rewrite it three times in order to get this. That, together with the fact that I have a lot of work to do during the last month makes it impossible to finish this chapter early. To compensate for that, this chapter is longer than anything I've written before, so enjoy!**

**And well, I didn't expect my story to be _that _close to canon. Madara really was the one behind Rin's death! Naruto can use Creation of All Things now! And poor Kakashi-sensei... no more Kakashi of the Sharingan :(( Madara, you bastard!**

**Disclaimer: Madara the bastard and every character of Naruto belong to Masashi Kishimoto.**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 11: Everything was Completely Messed Up!<strong>

"Do you think you can fix him?"

"Of course. I am God. There is nothing my Naraka Path cannot fix."

The mouth of the King of Hell opened, and from there, the familiar figure of Kakuzu emerged, completely rejuvenated.

"Finally! I can finally walk again!" Kakuzu bellowed while laughing like a mad man. "Kakashi Hatake, this time you won't get away from me! I'll blast you to shred for doing that to me! HAHAHAHAHA!"

Konan, who was now standing next to the Deva Path of Pain, facepalmed. "This is just stupid."

The man wearing a spiral mask, who was standing next to her shrugged. "Well, he's powerful, you know."

"Kakuzu of Takigakure," the Deva Path stepped up and looked at the five, now three-hearted missing-nin. "We restored your body, as agreed. From now on, you are a member of Akatsuki."

"Oh yeah?" Kakuzu sneered. "And why do I have to listen to you?"

"Because if you're with us, you will be able to claim much larger bounties than you've ever had before." Tobi answered smoothly.

"Besides," Pain continued, "who said that you had a choice?"

"You're threatening me?!" Kakuzu screamed; his two remaining masks sprouted from his shoulders, aiming at all the Akatsuki members standing in the room. A fire ball was formed in the mouth of one mask, and a small whirlwind in the other.

But Pain didn't even faltered a little bit. He raised his hand, and closed his eyes.

"Shinra Tensei."

Kakuzu was blown across the room, and slammed into the opposing wall with a loud 'CRASH'. The force of the push was so incredible a crater was left on the stone wall behind him. Kakuzu gasped out in pain; the chakra he had just stored for the jutsu dissipated harmlessly.

_What… what is this power…?_

"You have no chance Kakuzu. Come with us, and we won't have to kill you to keep our organization secret."

A pair of rippled purple eyes was staring down at him from above.

"Those… those eyes…"

And from then on, Kakuzu knew he was lost. He quietly received the ring from Pain without another word.

"And that's another member for the Akatsuki," Obito Uchiha said in satisfaction, a smirk formed under his mask.

"I don't get it," Kisame Hoshigaki, the shark swordsman, snorted. "If you only need people for the sealing, why didn't you use those bodies of yours anyway?"

"That's not something you're allowed to ask," Pain answered coldly, and Kisame shrugged, but stopped asking anyway.

"By the way, where did you find that man?" Konan questioned in curiosity. The masked man shrugged again.

"Found him battling Kakashi Hatake and Zabuza Momochi at the bridge construction zone in the Land of Waves. It seems the team of Kakashi includes the Kyuubi jinchuriki and your brother, Itachi. That boy finally managed to awaken his Sharingan."

From a dark corner of the room, Itachi Uchiha raised an eyebrow, but didn't answer.

"The Kyuubi jinchuriki, huh?" Pain asked; his voice showed a hint of interest. "How was he?"

"Nothing much," Obito answered. "He managed to tap into the Kyuubi's chakra, but that's it. He's kind of fast for a genin, but except for that, there is nothing special, as far as I can see. Well, except for his regeneration ability. That fool decided to take a killing blow meant for Zabuza, and was completely healed in just a few seconds."

"I see," Pain nodded. "That might be a problem for us in the future, though. Maybe we should capture him before he becomes too powerful."

"Wait."

Everyone turned towards Itachi, who had just raised his voice.

"I don't think that will be a wise idea, Leader," the Uchiha continued. "As far as I know, the Kyuubi jinchuriki is very close to the Third Hokage. If we try to capture him right now, it might pull us into an all-out war with Konohagakure, and might lead to the Fourth Shinobi World War if our action is revealed to other countries. With the Akatsuki as it is right now, I don't think we can afford such a large scale war at the moment."

Everyone stopped to digest what Itachi had just said.

"That does make sense," Pain nodded after a thought. "Then this will be what we're going to do now. Itachi, you take Kisame and go to Konohagakure to investigate and test that boy, to find out how good he is and report back to me, and if possible, capture him. Meanwhile, Konan and Tobi will travel around the Elemental Countries to find more potential recruitments. Zetsu will continue to investigate about Orochimaru."

"What about Kakuzu?" Konan asked.

"I'll take care of him," Tobi raised his hand. "I think he said something about needing to find hearts to replace his lost ones. Besides, I heard some rumor about a Jashinist named Hidan in Yugakure. Maybe he will be a good partner for our immortal friend."

"Good," Pain nodded. "I'm counting on you, Tobi. Now, dismiss."

* * *

><p>"Yaaahhhh!"<p>

Naruto yelled, and thrusted his hand forward. The perfectly formed Rasengan collided with the trunk of a tree in front of him and drilled a large, deep round hole into it.

"Yeeeeeaaahhh! Completed finally!" Naruto punched the sky in excitement. With the Rasengan completed, he was one step closer to regaining his old power!

'_**Good,' **_the voice of Kokuoh rose in his head. _**'Now come into your mindscape, we need to talk.'**_

The voice of the horse seemed to be harsher and heavier than usual.

'_Huh? What's wrong, Kokuoh?'_

'_**Don't ask, just come in here.'**_

Naruto was confused. Not understanding what he had done wrong, he sat down and closed your eyes. Within a blink of an eye, he was inside his mindscape, and immediately realized the Tailed Beasts looking down at him, each of whom was wearing a grim expression on their faces.

"Uh… what's wrong, guys?" Naruto asked hesitantly. There was _definitely _something wrong with them.

"**Naruto, we want to talk to you about that time on the bridge, when you jumped into the way of Kakashi to block a Raikiri for Zabuza," **Gyuuki started. Naruto's face brightened, and he grinned.

"Oh, that! Heh, that was pretty cool, eh?"

"**There was nothing cool about that, Naruto,"** Isobu glared at him. **"If that jutsu hit you a little bit more to the left, it would have taken your heart away! You were almost killed back there! And you think that was cool?"**

Naruto cringed when the turtle barked those words into his face. He retorted.

"So what? In the end I still saved him, right?"

"**That wasn't an excuse!" **This time, it was Kokuoh's voice booming around his mindscape. **"That action of yours was nothing but foolish! There is nothing funny if you die trying to save people!" **

Naruto glared at the Tailed Beasts, rage started to bubble in his stomach. So his saving of Zabuza was wrong, was he?

"Even if I have to die, if I can save them, it's worth it. There's nothing for me to regret about it." Naruto answered coldly.

He didn't expect Shukaku to punch him in the face.

Being in her beast form, she hit **hard**. Naruto was sent flying like a ragdoll; he hit the ground and bounced a few times before slamming hard at the sakura tree.

He felt as if all his bones had just been broken. Yes, she hit so hard that Naruto felt pain even when he was in his mindscape.

"**Did you even think when you said those words?" **she roared menacingly, her eyes were full of rage. **"Did you even stop for a second to remember that if you die, we will all die too?! Oh yeah, the Tailed Beasts can revive if they're dead, so just let them die, it's no problem! Well, FUCK YOU, just go try that yourself, leave us out of this! You care about someone you only met once, and neglect someone who is right next to you! I can't believe I decided to help you at the very beginning!"**

Looking at Naruto right now, everyone might think that he had just taken a punch to the face.

Well, he did, but you know what I mean.

"I… I…" he stuttered, but Shukaku didn't let him finish. She continued to scream at his face, her voice booming around him like thunder.

"**And you think risking yourself to save people is good? Well, sorry, it's not! You can save one person or two with it, yeah, but what about after that? Oh, how can you know, because YOU'RE DEAD! Dead men can only do one thing, which is lying in their grave and look pretty! If you want to do that, then go on, go and jump off the Hokage Mountain, no one will try to keep you! At least the world will have one less idiot!"**

For the first time in so many years, Naruto Uzumaki of all people couldn't even utter a word to retort.

Because what Shukaku had just said was completely true. On the bridge, in the haste of saving Zabuza, he had completely forgotten the crucial fact that all the Tailed Beasts inside him would also die if he was dead. He had plunged himself into the hand of Death, risking the lives of all the ones he had just called his "friends" just a few days ago, only for some people he had known for about four days. He didn't even spare a second to think what would happen if they were dead.

"**I think they were right, Naruto," **Kurama, who had stayed silent since Naruto arrived at his mindscape, chose this moment to speak up. **"Maybe I shouldn't have encouraged you like I did on the bridge. Risking your life for nothing is a poor repayment for everyone who cherishes you."**

Naruto slumped on the ground. More than ever, he felt like a jerk.

"Sorry everyone," he mumbled in shame. "It was all my fault. I was too weak… I couldn't think of any other way to save him…"

Then his face hardened. "But it means I have to push myself harder! I swear, the next time something like that happens, I will be ready to face it without risking my life! Can you please help me?"

The Tailed Beasts looked at each other and shook their heads. Naruto was still Naruto, no matter what happened. But at least he was not going to kill himself this time.

"**Then I think it's time to push your training to the next level." **Kokuoh said.

* * *

><p>Sasuke Uchiha was walking in the market district of Konohagakure. On his hands was a bag full of groceries.<p>

Yes, even being an Uchiha, he still had to eat. And that meant he had to go shopping just like everyone else. Food does not fly to your front door by themselves, you know.

He arrived at his regular vegetable store. The clerk greeted him with her usual fawning smile.

"Ah, Uchiha-sama! It's our pleasure to serve you again!"

Sasuke squirmed uncomfortably. Since the day he was designated into Team 7 and the speeches Naruto and Kakashi delivered to him, he had realized that most of the citizens in Konohagakure flattered him only because of his Uchiha heritage. Even this clerk was not an exception, even though her goods were quite nice.

"Kuroko-san, I told you not to call me Uchiha-sama," he said, shaking his head. But the clerk only answered him with another disturbingly sweet smile.

"Nonsense, you are Uchiha-sama, and I have the responsibility of addressing you with that name."

Sasuke shuddered. He suddenly felt so violated. He decided to ignore her, and turned to his favorite tomato stand, starting to choose the best ones out.

Right at that time, two more men walked into the store. They came to the counter and started to ask the clerk some questions. Sasuke ignored them, too; what they wanted to do was not of his concern, even when they wore something as strange as face-hiding cloaks with cloud-shaped patterns in the middle of a sunny day.

His ears only perked up when the name "Naruto Uzumaki" came out.

Sasuke was curious. Those guys obviously were not from Konoha. What on earth did they need his teammate for?

But the two men didn't ask further. When the clerk shook her head with a sneer, they just nodded and walked out of the store without any other question. When one of them opened the door, Sasuke accidentally caught a glimpse of his eyes.

And everything in his body froze.

Sharingan. He was looking at a pair of Sharingan.

"Wait!" He dropped the basket full of tomatoes in his hand unceremoniously and bolted toward the door. But when he managed to get outside, the two men had disappeared without a trace.

Sasuke's stomach twisted up as if it was thrown into a washing machine. Itachi was back, and he was after Naruto…

_Okay, okay, calm down… If he is after Naruto, I just have to get to Naruto first… I need to find Naruto…_

He looked around. _And where is Naruto's house, anyway?_

* * *

><p>"This sucks. Why do I have to do this?"<p>

Naruto was sitting in his room, flanked by fifty shadow clones. In front of each was a sheet of paper, and each of them was holding pencils on their hands.

Kokuoh had just explained the first step of his training to him. And Naruto could swear he had never heard of any kind of training as absurd as this was.

Seriously, training is one thing, but learning how to _draw_? This is just ridiculous!

"It's not that absurd, Naruto," Kokuoh chuckled amusingly when he saw the result of Naruto's first attempt. "It is the most basic training for ones who want to use Creation of All Things."

"Yeah, yeah, I know…" Naruto grumbled unhappily. "But why do I have to learn this?"

"First of all, Naruto, the purpose of this training is actually to teach you how to the 'blueprint' of what you want to create with your chakra." Kokuoh assumed his "lecture mode". "It's just like the Shadow Clone Jutsu; you need a complete, perfect blueprint in order to create something with Creation of All Things. And this time you cannot use your soul as a replacement; you have to create it yourself with your imagination."

"Urgh…" Naruto grumbled again. "But this is so boring! I thought you're teaching me something cool, like those Kekkei Genkai thingy you gave your other jinchuriki!"

The horse-man stared at Naruto. Then he started snorting with laughter.

"What the heck… who told you that Advance Natures are Kekkei Genkai, Naruto? That's just stupid!"

"What?" Naruto squinted in confusion. "But Kakashi-sensei said that those are Kekkei Genkai, and cannot be learnt."

Kokuoh, finally calmed down, chuckled and shook his head. "That is simply what humans think. The true 'Kekkei Genkai' here is not having two chakra elements; it is actually the ability to multitask. Only a few people are capable of doing it naturally; therefore the ability to use advanced natures is mistaken by humans as Kekkei Genkai. It is a very hard skill, and takes a very long time to master, but it can be learnt."

Kurama, who chose that moment to walk into the room, laughed. "That fool Orochimaru. He kidnapped a bunch of people who can use advanced natures, thinking that if he took their body he could use their abilities…"

"So even if the body has the right elements, the person who has it still cannot use the advanced element without training…" Naruto muttered; his face now looked more like a cute fox than ever. "But wait… then what about the Wood Style? Madara could use it after taking the First's gene!"

"Ah, that…" Suddenly the two Tailed Beasts grimaced. "Well, that ability is not a Kekkei Genkai, either. It is actually a Tailed Beast Skill engraved into the genetic material of the First Hokage, and because of that, there is no other in his family inherited that ability from him, but ones with his DNA can use it. That's disturbing, though…"

Naruto blinked. "Tailed Beast Skill? Just like those lava and ink things you guys can do?"

"Actually, no," Kokuoh shook his head. "When we were created by our Father, beside the immense chakra of the Juubi, he also gifted each of us with one of his own special traits. Kurama has his regeneration and the ability to sense negative emotions; Gyuuki has his skills in fuinjutsu; Goku inherits his extreme talent in taijutsu; Matatabi gets both the ability to create incredibly powerful genjutsu and resisting them…"

"Wow, so I might inherit all those awesome abilities from you?" Naruto asked, his eyes sparkling.

Kurama chuckled. "Actually, some of them are not that awesome. Chomei gains all of his positive emotions, which made her a happy and cheerful ball of energy as she is now. Sometimes she is still sulking because she doesn't have a special power like us."

Kokuoh shook his head. "Actually, I think she had one of the most helpful gifts. You must understand that the ability to feel happy and think positively is the greatest power in the world. If I remember right, that is what helped you keep standing to fight when Madara had his Rinnegan back, am I right Naruto?"

Naruto blushed.

"Just like the old man, always wise and philosophical, huh?" Kurama sighed, and Kokuoh smirked.

Naruto blinked. "What about you, Shukaku, Isobu and Saikyo?"

Kokuoh nodded. "I was lucky to be blessed with the Sage's sharp thinking and his vast knowledge. Shukaku is the only one of us who can use ninjutsu like a ninja. Isobu inherited his powerful and sturdy body; that's why he was born as a turtle. And Saikyo… she has the most powerful life force and the ability to imbue her chakra with 'life'. That is why she was born last, and the reason why the First Hokage has the Wood Style. Wood, or tree, is the symbol of life, you know. The power of 'life' is one of the most powerful and dangerous powers in this world."

"Huh?" Naruto's eyes bugged out at this piece of information. "So the First used to be the jinchuriki of Saikyo?"

"Yeah," Kurama nodded. "And that's the reason why that man was called the Second God of Shinobi. A genius of the Senju clan, blessed with a being with such an absurd power…"

"I thought you were the strongest Tailed Beast," Naruto teased, and Kurama flustered.

"That… that's not relevant!" she retorted with a slight blush. "Anyway, Saikyo is the only one of us who has the ability to breathe the concept of 'life' into her chakra. You know, even though wood was made from earth and water, without 'life' it would just become mud. And somehow, it makes her the only one who can calm us down when we go on rampages. I wonder if the old man did that purposely…"

"When _you_ go on rampages, you mean?" Kokuoh deadpanned. Kurama pouted.

"Wait, wait, wait," Naruto exclaimed. "If that man was so powerful, how could he die anyway? I heard that he was killed! How in the world could there be someone strong enough to kill him?"

Kurama bit her lip. "Well, it is a long story…"

_BOOM!_

Her voice was cut off as a loud, rude knock came from the front door, rocking the house. Someone was outside, knocking, no, _smashing _at the door to come in.

In less than a second, Naruto had been in the corridor. He glared at the door warily. It's not like his new home was an S-rank secret or something; but what kind of people would want to smash his door down like that?

He silently sent the telepathic message to all the Tailed Beasts, and with a loud "pop", all of them were back in his head. He drew a kunai, ready to fight back…

'_**Naruto!' **_Kurama said in alarm. _**'I can sense powerful and hostile chakra outside! There are two… They're the Akatsuki!'**_

_Akatsuki?!_

"Stand aside!" bellowed a rough voice.

Two seconds later, the front door was blasted from its hinges, revealing the familiar figures of Kisame Hoshigaki and Itachi Uchiha.

'_**Yeah,'**_ Kurama's voice once again echoed through his head. _**'Everything was completely messed up.'**_

* * *

><p>Naruto was running like hell on the road leading to the waterfall outside of the village. He couldn't fight the two Akatsuki members inside the village; it's too dangerous.<p>

Now when he started thinking about it… how could he fight those two, anyway?

With Itachi… That man used fire, so wind jutsu was out of the question. The Tailed Beasts inside him could break his genjutsu, and his taijutsu, according to what he knew, was not very good.

With Kisame… yeah, he was a _huge _problem. His chakra-sucking sword was nothing but trouble, and that man didn't seem to have a weak point after all. But maybe if he kept his distance, he might be able to outspeed him with the Chakra Shroud, and pelt him with weapons from afar.

With both of them? He was screwed. _Completely screwed._

'_But I don't understand! Why does Itachi do this? He's a good guy!" _Naruto wailed in his head.

'_**Yeah right. But he is still a jerk.' **_Kurama snorted. _**'Remember the day at the inn? Those two would have killed you had the pervert not shown up.'**_

Naruto grimaced. He remembered how Itachi had allowed the shark man to cut off his legs, and how Sasuke had been mindraped so brutally he was put into a coma for half a month.

The only chance for him was to get some help. The first ones he could think about was of course Old Man Hokage and Kakashi-sensei, but the two Akatsuki had noticed his attempt right away and had done a very good work of preventing him from getting anywhere near the urban area of the village. If he had his toad summons, he could contact Jiraiya immediately, but…

Pervy Sage liked to do his "researches" at the waterfall… Hopefully he might be there…

It's very close…

Then Naruto skidded into an abrupt halt.

There was no sign of Jiraiya anywhere near the waterfall. Even a slightest trace of chakra.

_Well, I'm in big trouble now._

Suddenly from nowhere, the two Akatsuki members jumped out, blocking his way.

Naruto jumped back; his hand immediately took out a kunai. There was no other way left; he had to fight…

But what could he do? There's no way he could go all out without making himself suspicious…

"I told you Itachi, cutting his legs off will make it less troublesome," the blue man laughed, and the Uchiha nodded.

"Very well, do it. But don't take it too long, or the village will notice."

Naruto's spine went cold. Itachi was serious.

'_Guys, we need to fight. Can you help me?'_

'_**Of course we will, Naruto,' **_Kokuoh answered. _**'But with these guys, you cannot win with power alone. Therefore, you should advance with caution, and don't risk yourself. Do you understand?'**_

Naruto nodded silently.

'_**Good. Then Kurama, give him two tails of your chakra. Naruto, flare the chakra up as hard as you can.'**_

Kurama quirked an eyebrow irritatingly for being ordered around, but still gave Naruto her chakra. In less than a second, Naruto could feel the warm chakra of the vixen filling his core and spreading around his chakra network. He let out a loud battlecry, and the chakra blasted out of his body, roaring like a tornado, sending a shockwave around the field. Finally, it settled down in the form of a golden chakra cloak around Naruto's body, with two radiant tails sticking out from behind.

00000

At three different locations around Konohagakure, three people suddenly turned their heads. Their brains shared the very same thought.

_Naruto!_

00000

Sasuke was running on the street of the suburb. He remembered Naruto told him that his new house was somewhere around here… but… where?

Suddenly he stumbled. He felt something… some kind of force… had just exploded at the waterfall at the rear of the village. It was just a slight sensation, but he could swear that he felt it.

What was happening over there?

00000

"Finally decided to use the beast's chakra, eh?" Kisame grinned, his sharp teeth bared menacingly. "This will be interesting!"

Naruto smirked back. "Of course it is. How can I defeat you without using the Kyuubi's chakra anyway?"

"Defeat us?!" Kisame broke out laughing. "Did you hear that Itachi? He's going to _defeat _us! Hahaha, this is rich!"

Itachi didn't answer. Instead, he narrowed his eyes.

"Naruto-kun, you're going to come with us if you don't want to be killed," he said.

'_**Now, Naruto!'**_

Naruto roared and kicked the ground hard, launching himself at the two Akatsuki members like a missile. He flew toward Kisame, who raised his sword to smash him aside and drain his chakra…

… and past him, aiming at Itachi standing behind him a few metres. He swiped at the Uchiha, only for the older man to lean back and avoid his hand.

"This is not enough to…"

Itachi's words were cut off abruptly when an arm made of chakra emerged from Naruto's right shoulder and punched him at the face. He quickly reinforced his arms with chakra and blocked the attack right in time before it smashed into his face. He stumbled back; both his arms, even buffed with chakra, felt numb as if they had been hit by a sledgehammer.

_So this is the power of the Nine-Tails… He's trying to use his advantages in physical abilities… Clever._

"Fire Style: Fire Ball Jutsu!" Itachi bellowed, and a ball of fire much, much larger than what Sasuke could use blasted out of his mouth, aiming at the golden boy. The fireball exploded upon contact, and Naruto was drowned in a sea of flame.

Itachi jumped back a few steps, eyeing the cloud of smoke in front of him warily. There's no way that boy was killed with that level of jutsu.

Then suddenly, from the cloud of smoke, Naruto burst out; on his hand was a pitch black sphere of chakra. He roared, and pushed to black mini Tailed Beast Bomb at Itachi's stomach.

But from who knows where, Kisame appeared in front of Itachi, and swung his sword hard, directly at Naruto's hand which was holding the sphere of destruction. In just a second, the sphere was devoured completely together with Naruto's chakra shroud, and Naruto's bare hand crashed into the spiky blade of the sword with a sickening "crack". He screamed in pain, and dropped to the ground; his right broken arm was hanging at a very strange angle.

… and he popped into smoke.

_Shadow clone!?_

Then two punches, one real, one made of chakra, smashed into Itachi and Kisame from behind. Naruto had moved since who knows when, and had successfully delivered a blow at the two Akatsuki.

Or at least, that's what he thought.

Itachi and Kisame exploded violently, blasting him away. His body slammed hard at a tree nearby, and the tree broke in half.

Naruto groaned. _Damn it, what is that jutsu? It hurt!_

'_**Shadow Clone Explosion,' **_Kokuoh grimaced. _**'Those two are better than I thought…'**_

"You have some remarkable skills, Naruto-kun," Itachi said when he was stepping out of the dust cloud. "Unfortunately, those powers are still no way near our level."

"Still," Kisame laughed next to him; his grin was malicious, "his chakra is very delicious. I wonder if I can drain him a little bit more before bringing him to Leader. It's such a waste to let go of such a powerful tank of chakra."

_Well, fighting with tactics is down the toilet, _Naruto grimaced. _So what do we do now?_

'_**Do you even have to ask?' **_Goku bellowed inside his head, when Kokuoh started opening his mouth to speak. _**'If you cannot defeat someone with quality, crush them with quantity!'**_

Everyone except Naruto facepalmed.

"Right," Naruto muttered. He molded as much chakra as he could, and form his signature hand seal. "Shadow Clo…"

He was cut off as an unexpected person rushed into the clearing.

"Itachi!"

* * *

><p>"Huh?" Kisame leered at the newcomer and raised an eyebrow. "Isn't that your little brother, Itachi?"<p>

Itachi didn't answer. Not even bothering to turn his head, he asked. "What do you want?"

He expected the younger Uchiha to freak out and scream gibberish about killing him to avenge the clan. However, what escape Sasuke's mouth startled him.

"I want an answer to the night of the massacre. The truth."

Trying his best to keep his face calm and emotionless as usual, Itachi said. "I thought I've made it clear to you. If you want to kill me…"

"Enough with that bullshit!" Sasuke suddenly roared. "The Hokage explained everything to me! The Kyuubi attack, the coup, your s…"

"Tsukuyomi."

And Sasuke suddenly found himself standing in darkness. The scenes of the massacre once again flashed around him, but different from before, Sasuke didn't feel scared or angry. Right now, in his head, there was only sadness and sympathy.

"So it is really true." He mused. "If it weren't, you wouldn't have to do this to stop me."

"How much did the Hokage tell you, Sasuke?" Itachi asked. For the first time, he was looking at Sasuke's eyes.

Sasuke answered him with a question. "Who was the real person who massacred the clan?"

"Why do you think that there is another person?" Itachi asked slowly. "The Hokage might be lying to you. I might really be the one who did the whole massacre."

The words of Itachi actually made sense. What if there was actually no one there, and everything the Hokage said was a lie?

"No, I don't believe it."

Those words were said with such an absolute certainty that even Sasuke himself was surprised.

"Come again?"

"I don't believe it," Sasuke repeated. "When I think about it, everything made sense. The murder, I might not understand, but the fact that the coup was going to happen is undeniable. I'm also an Uchiha; I've heard that kind of things from Father too many times to even doubt something like that could ever happen. Besides," he added honestly, "that night I remember you crying. That is not something a mass murderer like you claimed to be can do. I might just be a kid, but I can still see the sadness and regret in your eyes that night. It is not something that can be faked. I'm your brother; I know you Itachi. You're not someone who likes to kill other for no reason. Please Itachi, why didn't you trust me, your own brother?"

The two pairs of Sharingan looked directly into each other.

Itachi closed his eyes for a while. Then, when he opened them again, in his face was a sad smile.

"You've truly grown, Sasuke. Yes, what the Hokage said was true; but I'm sorry, Sasuke, this is not the time for you to know everything. The enemy I'm facing is not someone you can face; not with your ability right now. Train yourself hard, become stronger, then come face me. I promise when that day comes, I will tell you the whole truth."

"Wait, Itachi!" Sasuke called when Itachi raised his hands to cancel the genjutsu. "If that enemy was so powerful, why didn't you come back to the village? There are many powerful shinobi here; I'm sure they can help…"

"No, Sasuke, I cannot come back now," Itachi shook his head. "My mission is still not complete. That enemy is the most dangerous person in the world; normal shinobi are no match for him. This is a job I have to do alone. Your duty is to become more powerful and mend the reputation of the Uchiha clan. Until then…" he said when the surrounding scenes started fading away, "stay safe, and never let hatred overwhelm your mind."

"Wait, Itachi… Wait!"

Sasuke screamed, but everything around him had already disappeared.

* * *

><p>"Kisame, we're leaving."<p>

The shark man looked back at the Uchiha and whined.

"That soon? I'm starting to have fun here…"

"If my foolish little brother is here, there's no reason not to believe that other shinobi in Konoha do not sense this battle." Itachi cut him short, pointing at his unconscious brother on the ground. "There might be reinforcement in only a few minutes. Remember what Leader said? We cannot reveal ourselves to Konoha; not yet."

"Tch," Kisame snorted unhappily. "I was hoping to take some more of the beast's chakra for myself… But eh, it can't be helped. Consider this your lucky day, jinchuriki. We will someday come back and get you."

And with that, the two rogue shinobi disappeared with Body Flicker.

Naruto followed their emotional signatures until they left the village completely, then sighed in relief and relaxed himself; his shroud of chakra faded away. At least he's safe for now.

Next to him, Sasuke groaned and woke up.

'_**Wow, that's fast,' **_Kurama noted. _**'The last time Itachi did that, he was put into a coma for a month.'**_

"Teme! Are you okay?" Naruto yelled, jumping to his friend. "What did Itachi do to you?"

"It's nothing, I'm fine…" Sasuke muttered. "Where is Itachi?"

"He escaped," Naruto answered.

Right at that time, three other people Flickered into the clearing.

"Naruto, Sasuke! Are you two alright?" Kakashi shouted when he saw his two students. Naruto grinned and waved back at him.

"We're alright sensei!"

"What happened, Naruto?" asked Sarutobi, who was already in his battle gear with his Adamantine Staff on his hand. Naruto replied.

"It's Itachi and his partner, jiji. I think they're here for… well…"

He trailed off, remembering that Sasuke was still there. Jiraiya, the third person appearing in the clearing, looked at the boy on the ground.

"Itachi? Then… did Sasuke…?"

"He told me," was the only answer of the Uchiha boy, and Sarutobi and Jiraiya immediately understood. The old Hokage sighed in relief.

"That's good. Well, let's take you home for now; it's already a hard day for you…"

Sasuke took the hand Naruto offered him and pulled himself up. When they started walking back, Sasuke suddenly asked.

"Naruto, what is that golden chakra you used against them?"

The four other people cringed. Kakashi started. "Sasuke, this is not the time…"

"No sensei, this _is_ the time," Naruto suddenly cut him short. "I'll tell him."

"Are you sure Naruto?" Sarutobi asked warily. "That information is dangerous…"

"Sasuke is my teammate, jiji; he deserved to know about it." Naruto retorted sharply. Then he turned to Sasuke. "Sasuke, let's go get Sakura, too. I was planning to tell you two this, anyway."

Half an hour later, Team 7 plus Jiraiya and the Hokage were sitting in the living room of Sasuke's house. The Uchiha looked at Naruto.

"Well, dobe?"

"Well, the truth is…" Naruto took a deep breath. "I'm the jinchuriki of the Kyuubi."

* * *

><p>After Naruto revealed his story, the room was filled with dense, heavy silence.<p>

Finally, Sakura was the first person to raise her voice.

"So it's true," she stammered. "My mother always says that you're a demon… And she's right… you're the Kyuubi which killed the Fourth Hokage…"

"WHAT DID YOU SAY?" Jiraiya bellowed and bolted up, slamming his hands on the table in the process, causing the three children to jump.

"Jiraiya, _no_!" Sarutobi shouted, his eyes flashing with authority. When Jiraiya grumbled and sat down, the old Hokage looked straight into Sakura's eyes and said calmly.

"Sakura Haruno, from now on you will refrain from speaking those words. Naruto is not a monster, and he doesn't deserve to be called one, despite what someone might say."

"But… but he just said…" Sakura stuttered.

"Why?"

Everyone turned toward Sasuke, who had just blurted out that word in a trembling voice.

"So you planned to turn Naruto into a weapon for the village? Why? Isn't being an orphan hard enough for him?" the boy continued; in his voice, there was a hint of anger.

Sarutobi sighed. "Actually, making Naruto a jinchuriki is something the Fourth Hokage never wanted to do. The Kyuubi is too powerful; leaving it roaming around is incredibly dangerous."

'_**I take offense to that,' **_Kurama grumbled in Naruto's mind.

"And if it falls into the hand of evil people, just like twelve years ago… well, you of all people should know the consequences of it, Sasuke." Sarutobi continued. "In a desperate attempt before his death, the Fourth Hokage and his wife sacrificed their lives to seal the Kyuubi inside Naruto, hoping he could keep the beast at bay, and protect it, as well as this world, from people who try to harness its power for evil. Therefore…" the old Hokage shook his head solemnly, "…Naruto should be considered a hero, not a demon. Allowing that to happen was completely my fault, and my fault alone."

For a while, the air was completely silent, except for the chirping of some crickets outside. Then Sakura spoke in a hoarse voice.

"But why Naruto? Surely there can be many other people he could use to contain the beast for him… Why used a baby who had just been born?"

Every adult in the room looked at each other awkwardly.

"Sakura," Kakashi said, "this is not the time for that…"

"Because I am his son."

Everyone looked like they had just been shocked by a thousand volts of electricity. Sarutobi exclaimed in horror.

"Naruto, you _didn't_…"

"Yes, I did, jiji," said Naruto mutinously. "And I don't regret it. That is _my _secret, and I have the right to tell it to whoever I want."

"Oh, quit lying, you idiot," Sakura snapped in annoyance. "There is no way the like of you is the son of someone like the Fourth Hokage!"

But she faltered when she saw the face of the adults in the room.

"No way," she slapped a hand to her mouth. "It is really true? Naruto is really the son of the Fourth?!"

"Yes, he is," Jiraiya answered grimly. "And this is an S-ranked secret, so don't even think of telling other people about this, or you'll be executed, unless it was Naruto himself who allowed you to."

Silence once again filled the air. Then Sakura asked hoarsely.

"But why… If that's true, why didn't you tell the village about it? Surely if everyone knows, they will…"

"They will do what?" Jiraiya cut her short in a harsh voice. "Fawn over him, kiss his ass as they already did with Sasuke? Like _you _already did with Sasuke? No, we had wanted him to live a normal life, as a normal boy who does not know anything about reputation, far away from the spoiling you civilians had already given Sasuke over there. But unfortunately," he spat on the ground, "what happened to Naruto is way worse than we thought!"

Everyone winced. Those words of Jiraiya touched Sasuke a lot, but he didn't feel angry. Because he knew everything the man had just said was the truth.

"I think that's enough for today," Sarutobi said and stood up. He didn't even raise his voice, yet there was a finality in his tone that told everyone not to question further.

"Naruto, Sasuke, you two should take a good rest. Today you have suffered a lot," he added before stepping out of the house. The two other adults looked at each other and at the three children once more, and followed the Hokage.

But Sasuke and Naruto didn't want to rest at all.

* * *

><p>"How did you stand it, dobe? How hadn't you gone mad with all those mistreatment everyone made you suffer?"<p>

Naruto looked at Sasuke and smiled.

"I'm not very sure myself. It's just like… I've become familiar with it. But if you think about it, they had a reason to do it, you know. They have lost their precious people to them during the attack, so of course they will be angry. I don't blame them."

Sasuke gasped in horror. "But you're not the Kyuubi at all!"

Naruto smiled sadly. "But they didn't know it, did they? You're not to blame if you're unaware."

For a while, the two boys sat next to each other in silence. Then Sasuke suddenly said something Naruto thought he would never have a chance to hear in his life.

"I'm sorry."

It's unnescessary to say how shocked Naruto was right now. "Sorry? For what?"

"It's basically our clan's fault that you have to lose your parents, and suffer a terrible life. Had it not been for that Uchiha who summoned the Kyuubi to destroy the village…"

It's worth noting that not only Naruto was surprised.

'_**Wow,' **_Gyuuki said in awe. _**'This Sasuke is completely different from the Sasuke in our timeline.'**_

'_**Yeah,' **_Kokuoh nodded wisely. _**'It's terrifying to see what the truth can do…'**_

Naruto couldn't say anything for a while. Then, he smiled, and slapped his friend's back.

"Heh, it's okay. Everything's gone is gone. At least you're my friend now; that's enough to compensate for everything in the past. The best we can do now is not letting it happen again, right?"

"Yeah…" Sasuke sighed, and Naruto could see in his face something he hadn't seen for a while: a smile.

* * *

><p>Sakura was lying on her bed.<p>

She thought about what Jiraiya had told her at Sasuke's house.

_Is what he said true? Do I only love Sasuke-kun only because he is the last Uchiha? Am I not any different from the other girls in my class?_

'_**That stupid old man doesn't know anything about true love! He's just spouting nonsense! Cha!' **_he inner self screamed in her mind. Sakura sighed.

_True love, huh…?_

She closed her eyes. Right, her love for Sasuke-kun is definitely true, she believes it…

A memory flashed before her closed eyes.

00000

_(Flashback: One year ago)_

"_Come oooonnn Sakura-chan! Why do you like that idiot Sasuke over me?" An eleven-year old Naruto whined after the back of Sakura._

"_Isn't it obvious?" she snapped back with a raised eyebrow. "Sasuke-kun is the most handsome boy in the whole Academy, and he is the last of the famous Uchiha clan! And you? You're stupid, annoying and always do silly things! Who would want you over someone like Sasuke-kun?"_

"_But he's a jerk!" Naruto protested weakly._

"_So what? He's still way better than the like of you!"_

"_But…"_

"_Oh, shut up!" Sakura finally had enough. She punched Naruto in the gut. "You're annoying!"_

_Then she marched away with her nose in the air, leaving Naruto on the ground writhing in pain._

_(End flashback)_

00000

_My god… He's right… I'm just like other people… I'm so stupid…_

'_**But Sasuke-kun is not a jerk now!' **_her inner self protested.

_Yeah… but even with that, is it really worth it? _

Sakura let out a deep sigh. She remembered everything she had lost for her "love".

Her friendship with Ino.

Her chance to know and get close to other people, including Naruto.

Hell, even her real purpose when she decided to attend the ninja academy. Since who knows when, it was completely replaced by "to be together with my beloved Sasuke-kun". It made her a useless fangirl who didn't know anything except making up and fawning after Sasuke-kun.

Suddenly she bolted up from her bed. She quickly got dressed, and rushed out of her house, ignoring her mother yelling behind her to be home early for dinner.

Her love to Sasuke might stay unchanged, but the other things need to be fixed. It's time for her to grow up. She had to apologize to Ino, apologize to Naruto, but the first thing she needed to do was…

Thirty minutes later…

"Kakashi-sensei, please teach me how to be stronger!"

* * *

><p>"There's only one month left until the Chuunin Exam. Until then, I want to ensure that you three are ready for it. Because of that, starting from today, there will be no missions for Team 7, and I will start training you seriously. Do you understand?"<p>

"Yes, sir!" the three members of Team 7 echoed. Kakashi eyesmiled.

"Good. Then Sasuke, during this month, you will train with me, in order to develop your lightning element and your Sharingan to the best you can. Naruto…"

"Nah, don't worry about me, sensei," Naruto waved his hand dismissively. "I bugged Pervy Sage all yesterday, and he finally had to accept training me."

"Huh, so you were told this before?" Sasuke raised an eyebrow. Naruto grinned.

"Actually, jiji told me. Do you really think that Kakashi-sensei can do this without asking for permission from the Hokage?"

Sasuke grumbled something about "not fair having a relationship with the Hokage".

"What about me, sensei?" Sakura asked hopefully. Kakashi smiled.

"Don't worry; I think your trainer will be here soon… Ah, there she is."

Sakura's spine suddenly froze when a cold finger brushed against her right cheek, and a warm breath breezed across her ear.

"Ah, so she's the one you want me to train, Kakashi? Kukuku… don't worry, I'll be sure to break her thoroughly for you… but remember, you owe me something, Cyclops. Now, off we go!"

The newcomer grabbed Sakura's shoulder, and both disappeared in a quick Body Flicker. Naruto and Sasuke stared at the place where their teammate had just stood a few seconds ago for a while, then Naruto finally managed to open his mouth.

"Is… is that the crazy snake lady?"

Kakashi chuckled. "Don't say that in front of Anko, or she will flay you alive, Naruto."

"But what did you do to make her to train Sakura anyway?" Naruto raised an eyebrow. "I heard that she insisted to stay at Tokubetsu Jonin just because she doesn't want to teach any genin!"

Kakashi chuckled again. "You'll be surprised to know what a free month of all-you-can-eat dango can do, Naruto. Now, Sasuke, I think it's time for us to go for our training. Are you ready?"

Sasuke smirked. "Of course I do."

"I'm waiting to spar against you after this month, Sasuke," Naruto grinned at the other boy. Sasuke grinned back.

"Oh, by the way, Naruto, the money for Anko's dango is from your account, so take care!" Kakashi eyesmiled at Naruto. But before Naruto could let out an outrageous cry, Kakashi and Sasuke had disappeared in another quick Flicker.

"Damn you, Kakashi-sensei!"

'_**Looks like the prankster has just been pranked,'**_ Isobu said, while all the Tailed Beasts snickered in his mind.

'_Oh, shut up!'_

* * *

><p>The days of Team 7's training seemed to slip by as though someone had fixed the clocks to make it work at double speed. Before Naruto could even realize it, the month had passed, and finally, it was the day the team had assigned for another meeting.<p>

Right now, Naruto was skipping on the street. He couldn't wait to see how much his friends had grown with all the training they had.

There, at the end of the street, his teammates were coming. And they really had changed.

Naruto almost couldn't recognize Sakura in her new look. Instead of her old red cheongsam, she was now wearing a very provocative black skin-tight bodysuit that looked suspiciously like a leotard. Along her waist, a short pink skirt covered the upper half of her thighs. Her legs were covered in a long pair of black stocking that went over her knees, also holding her kunai pouch, and a pair of boots. She wore a pair of metal gauntlets on her hands, which made Naruto shudder while thinking of what would happen if she tried punching him on his head like before. Over all these set up was a long gray coat, extended to her knees, reminding everyone of Anko herself. Her Konohagakure headband was tied neatly around her neck. And her familiar long pink hair was tied up into a high ponytail behind her head. In short, there are only two words that can explain Sakura's look right now, which are **Sexy **and **Dangerous**.

Sasuke, in contrast, didn't look too different. His look right now was similar to what he wore during the Chuunin Exam in Naruto's timeline: a short, black shirt; a white pair of shorts, and bandages covering his arms and legs. But now, outside of his shirt, he wore a short jacket that looked not unlike Kakashi's jonin uniform, but without any pocket, and seemed to be reinforced with something metallic on the chest area. He wore a pair of black gloves, engraved with metal symbols of the Uchiha clan at the back of his hands. And a katana was strapped tightly on his belt at the back. But the greatest change in him was that his body was much more well-toned than before, not as much as the Fourth Raikage A or his brother Killer Bee, but still enough for Naruto to see muscles even with all the bandages. And his Sharingan were now activated constantly, with three tomoe in each eye.

"Wow, Sakura, you look great!" Naruto said in awe. Sakura giggled.

"You do not look so bad, either," Sasuke smirked. "Got any more powerful?"

Naruto smirked back. He really had pushed himself to the limit during this training month. His body, while still not as powerful as in his time, had developed quite nicely, to the point that he could use half of Kurama's chakra at once without feeling any pain. He still couldn't enter full Tailed Beast Mode yet, but still more than enough for any enemy below S-rank. Beside getting back the Toad Summoning Contract, he had managed to remaster his Rasenshuriken and could use it three times consecutively with his own chakra, though the beasts had forbidden him from using it unless the Akatsuki decided to attack. And his Creation of All Things had advanced enough for him to create common things like clothes, which was represented by the new black-and-orange jacket with the Uzumaki symbol on the back he was wearing outside of his normal clothes right now.

'_**I still think it needs some more… uniqueness,' **_Matatabi said inside his head. _**'Maybe if you had made it red and longer, with an exposing ba…'**_

'_Oh, will you please cut it out, Mata-chan?' _Naruto deadpanned. The cat pouted, and Naruto rolled his eyes.

"Ah, so you three are finally here."

The three of them turned to see Kakashi coming toward them. He looked exactly the same as before: the sleeveless black shirt, the jonin flak jacket, the mask, the forehead protector tilted to the left to hide his Sharingan. But Naruto could feel something completely different exuding out of his body. Something incredible; something powerful. It's just like a weapon of mass destruction was shoved into the clothes of Kakashi.

Naruto's eyes bugged out of their sockets.

"Oh my god. Kakashi-sensei is here? On time!? AHHHH! ARMAGEDDON IS COMING! RUN FOR YOUR LIFE!" he screamed hysterically and ran around, and received a boot to his head.

"That is not very nice, Naruto," Kakashi chided him, then handed each of his students a sheet of paper.

"This is your registration form for the Chuunin Exam," he gave them his trademark eyesmile. "And I expect you three to be Chuunin after this exam, or suffer my… displeasure," his eye became dark. All the three shuddered in fear.

Then suddenly, his eye blinked back to the usual smile. "Oh, but no pressure."

Everyone broke into laughter.

"Yeah!" Naruto pumped his fist on the air. "Let's get this show on the road!"

This time, he was ready for anything.

* * *

><p><strong>And cut!<strong>

**The idea of Hashirama being the jinchuriki of Saikyo actually was based on a theory I've read on the Internet a while ago, which stated that Hashirama was the Sage of the Slugs. It sounded quite interesting, and made sense in some ways. So I thought, why not? Remember, even in the anime, Utakata is the only jinchuriki outside of Naruto whom Pain needed all _six _Paths to capture. That shows how badass Saikyo, and her jinchuriki, are. **

**A lot of information has been revealed in this chapter. Obito had revealed himself as a member of the Akatsuki. Itachi and Kisame had visited Konoha sooner than Naruto expected. All the information the Hokage had revealed was confirmed. And Sakura finally realized her problems.**

**History has changed. And the Chuunin Exam is coming. What will happen? And what will Naruto do to turn it the right way? Find out on the next chapters of Once More!**

**Until then, please review!**


	12. Chapter 12: Let's Ruin the Chuunin Exam!

**I'm back!**

****Thank you all for both your negative and positive reviews!****

**Sorry for the delay of the new chapter, but I've been a little bit stuck while writing this chapter. The ideas are all in my head, but I couldn't find a way to express them into words. That, and I've been a little bit lazy :p**

**But finally, it's done! Enjoy Chapter 12! And I'm very sorry if it's not as good as the chapters before.**

**Here are some answers to the reviews:**

**grembari: Yeah, I admit that I don't know about Kakuzu's personality very well. Thank you very much for your reminding.**

**flevantein: I have explained the renaming of Saiken/Saikyo in chapter 1. Please look back. And there is a reason why I made Hashirama her jinchuriki. I will explain later, but I can reveal that Madara has something to do with his death.**

**Shinen no Hikari: I understand what you want to say. But please remember that when your heart is destroyed, you are dead. Even being a jinchuriki won't help you escape that fate, as mentioned in the chapters with the battle of the Sannin and the Sasuke vs. Naruto battle at the Valley of the End. It means all of the Beasts inside Naruto will be killed together with him. And self-sacrifice does not mean you can throw the lives of others away just to save one person. **

**Disclaimer: Naruto and all of its characters belong to Masashi Kishimoto.**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 12: Let's Ruin the Chuunin Exam!<strong>

In a dark corner of the highest tower of Amegakure, two people were kneeling in front of a throne.

"I'm very disappointed of you, Itachi, Kisame."

"I'm sorry, Leader," Itachi answered with a monotone voice. "That jinchuriki is not skilled, but he is quite sly. Had it not been for my time in Konohagakure, he would have outrun us."

"True, but in the combat side, he's nothing to be worried about," Kisame grinned.

"Even with that," Pain cut them short, "you alerted Konohagakure about our presence. And it is a little too soon to reveal ourselves to the world. You disobeyed me, and as the rule, I should punish you…"

Pain raised his hand, and Itachi and Kisame tensed up, ready themselves to fight.

"…however, this time I will forgive you. You've done at least a good job, evaluating the ability of the Kyuubi jinchuriki. Considering what you told me about him, there is nothing to fear. When the time comes, I'll go capture him myself. Now Itachi, Kisame, I have another job for you. In the border of Iwagakure, there is an S-ranked international terrorist named Deidara. He used to be in the Explosion Corps of Iwagakure. You two go there and make sure to recruit him. I'm counting on you."

_Your arrogance will someday come back to bite you, Pain, _Itachi thought when the two walked out of the throne room.

* * *

><p>Team 7 was on their way to the Academy, where the first task of the Chuunin Exam was held.<p>

Naruto was gripping his registration form tight in his right hand. The Chuunin Exam was one of the most memorable milestones in his life. It was the first time he met another jinchuriki, the first time he fought in a war, and – his stomach twisted with this thought – the first time one of his precious people died and he couldn't do anything to help…

'_**Then just don't let him die this time,' **_Shukaku said. Naruto smiled. Shukaku is still Shukaku; despite being much nicer than before, she's still as rude and blunt as ever.

Speaking about the Chuunin Exam… if it was held in the Academy, the first task should be the written test, just like during his time.

'_**Written test?! God, that was the most stupid thing I've heard in my life!' **_Goku snorted in Naruto's head. _**'Seriously, written test in an exam for shinobi?'**_

_**'Yeah, and that's why we call you a musclehead with no brain at all,'**_Matatabi said dryly.

_**'Hey!'**_

Naruto sighed. Since he had the nine Tailed Beasts living together with him, he had been used to their usual bickering. Sometimes, it just caused him massive headaches.

Still_, _Naruto couldn't help but agree with the monkey. _Seriously_, _couldn't jiji and the guys in charge come up with something more interesting? Written tests suck!_

Too busy with his thoughts, he didn't even realize he had just walked past the Sand Siblings, who were also on their way to the test room.

"Hey, you over there; what are your names?"

Only when Gaara called did Naruto realize the existence of the three foreign ninja in the corridor. He turned, and saw that the redhead was staring at Team 7 with a calculating look. Gaara still looked the same as Naruto could remember: pale green eyes without eyebrows, the kanji of "love" carved into his forehead, the gourd on his back…

Wait a second here… if Gaara had the gourd, it would mean…

'_**Impossible… I can feel my power inside him! How can he have my power? I'm right here!' **_he heard Shukaku muttering in his head. Coincidentally, he was also sharing the same question.

'_**So that's it…' **_Kokuoh grimaced. _**'Now I finally understand…'**_

'_What's wrong Kokuoh? Why does Gaara still have the power of Shukaku?' _Naruto questioned.

"Sasuke Uchiha."

But before Kokuoh could answer, Sasuke already said. Gaara nodded, and looked at Naruto; his stare looked like it could drill a hole into his head. Naruto blinked; he had to leave the matter aside until later.

"Naruto Uzumaki," he answered. He couldn't know what was happening inside the redhead's brain, but judging by the crazy and almost painful twisting of his face, he could understand that whatever in his head was causing him a massive headache.

'_**Oy! What is 'whatever in his head' suppose to mean!?' **_Shukaku asked in an annoyed voice.

"Uchiha and Uzumaki…" Finally, after getting a hold of himself, Gaara looked at the two boys, a maniacal grin twisted his face, "you are both powerful… by killing you, I will prove my existence."

His hand reached up toward the cord of the gourd. In reflex, Team 7 all jumped into their fighting stances; Naruto pulled out a kunai, Sasuke reached the hilt of his katana, and Sakura flicked her hands, pulling out a few senbon hidden in her sleeves. Temari, who was standing right next to Gaara, shouted worriedly.

"Gaara! Stop! This is not the time to fight! Remember what the Kazekage had said! Just wait until the exam has already started!"

For a few seconds, it seemed Gaara wanted to go on with the killing despite whatever the Kazekage had said, but then his hand stopped, and he threw a glare at Team 7 before walking away, and entering the testing room. Temari and Kankuro looked at each other worriedly, and followed him without a word.

Sakura looked at her hands. Even under the gauntlets, she could feel them drenched with sweat.

"Who… who is that guy? It's just like…"

"Me," Naruto muttered. "He's also a jinchuriki. I can feel it."

It's not a complete lie, though; Shukaku herself had said that she could feel her power inside Gaara. But that brought him to the question before: how was that possible?

* * *

><p>"So what exactly happened, Kokuoh?"<p>

Right after settling down on a desk in the classroom, Naruto immediately dozed off, and arrived in his mindscape to meet the Beasts. He needed an answer for this problem, and fast.

Kokuoh sighed. **"Well, it's just a theory of mine, but… Oh, never mind. Everyone, since when we arrived here, have you ever felt any strain to your bodies, like you are going to be crushed, smothered, disintegrated, or something similar even when you are alone?"**

Everyone shook their heads. Kokuoh nodded.

"**That proves my theory is true. You see, I've been wondering why we weren't crushed by the reality when we arrived here, because two beings with the exact same identity cannot exist at the same time in one place. It will cause a paradox that might collapse the entire dimension. But there is a fact that we're still here, alive and kicking… It means that when we're sent here, we didn't 'overwrite' or 'replace' the existence of anything in this timeline. Instead, we were sent here as completely different beings with different identities from the ones in this timeline."**

Everyone gave Kokuoh the same blank stare. Naruto's was of not understanding anything, while the others' were of disbelief.

"**That was the most stupid thing I've ever heard, even more than this whole travel back in time thing," **Shukaku said flatly.

"**Yeah," **Kurama agreed. **"There are just too many holes in that theory."**

"**But I'm afraid it's the only way to explain the situation right now," **Kokuoh said grimly. **"And considering the attack of Itachi and his partner, I think there is a very high chance we might have to deal with Madara's plan again in the near future."**

Silence covered Naruto's mindscape after this ominous pronouncement. Then Isobu said.

"**Um… I don't know about this, but if what you said was true, then what happened to the Naruto of this timeline?"**

Kokuoh winced. **"Well…"**

00000

Somewhere else…

A lifeless, ragged body of a blond boy was floating in the dark, empty void of a completely erased world.

00000

"…**I don't know, and I don't think we should ever know about that anyway," **he said in a heavy tone, after a few seconds of thinking. His face looked kind of sick. Everyone gulped, and decided it would be best not to question further.

"**But what are we going to do now?" **Matatabi asked worriedly.

"**I don't think we need to do anything."**

Everyone turned to Gyuuki, who had just said those words. The ox-topus shook his head, and shrugged.

"**Think about it. Since we first arrived here, everything has gone astray. Even the things that actually happened in our past have gone wrong in some way. So, why should we think so hard about it? The most important thing to do right now is to keep Naruto alive until after this exam first."**

"**Yeah," **Shukaku added after a thought. **"Orochimaru is going to attack in this exam, right? We should worry about stopping that mad snake first."**

"You're right…" Naruto muttered. Gaara was here; it meant Orochimaru was, very likely, planning to attack Konoha just like in his past. He's going to sneak into the Forest of Death during the second task to mark Sasuke with the cursed mark.

Naruto opened his eyes and looked around him. If what he thought was true, Orochimaru was in this room right now, disguised as a participant…

'_**Hey, Naruto, on your left, at 9 o'clock.'**_

Naruto's head snapped towards that direction. _'Orochimaru?'_

"Naruto-kun!"

Instead of Orochimaru, he saw Haku running toward him and Team 7.

'_**No, your girlfriend,' **_Goku snickered. Naruto's face reddened. _'This is not the time for joke!'_

Haku actually looked quite different from what Naruto remembered her to be. She was now wearing a bluish white long-sleeved sweater which looked very form-fitting on her, revealing the developing curves hidden under her gender-hiding kimono. Her pants from before was replaced by a short, light blue skirt covering her thighs, giving her easy mobilization during battle. Her Kirigakure headband was tied on her neck just like Sakura, and her long hair was gathered in a white bun on her head. And she looked much, much more cheerful and happy than he remembered her to be in Wave.

"Good morning, Uchiha-san, Haruno-san," she bowed when arrived at Team 7's desk.

"Haku-chan!" Naruto exclaimed. "You're taking the Chuunin Exam too?"

Haku giggled. "Of course I am! You think you're the only ones allowed to take it?"

"But I thought Zabuza decided to give up being a ninja," Naruto blinked. Haku smiled and shook her head.

"After you left Waves, Dad got an invitation from Kirigakure to return to the village. He did, and now we're representatives of Kirigakure in this Chuunin Exam! He's also rebuilding the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist, and two of them are my teammates! They're over there!"

She pointed at a table afar, behind Naruto. From there, a boy wearing nerd glass with a big bandaged packaged on his back, and another boy with white long hair wearing a black jacket waved back.

"So even the new generation of the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist is here…" Sasuke muttered with a grin. "This is a good chance for me to test my ability… OWW!"

That last scream was because of Naruto's hand slapping him on the crown of his head.

"What the heck was that for, idiot?" he glared at Naruto and snapped angrily.

Naruto just chuckled. "Be nice or I'll just hit you again."

Sasuke grumbled.

"Hey, it's Naruto's group over there!"

Naruto turned towards the entrance of the room. All the others of the Konoha 11 had just arrived. Ino, just as usual, immediately latched on Sasuke like a leech, much to the Uchiha's horror and disgust. Surprisingly, Sakura didn't have any reaction except for a frown and a slight twitch of her right arm. It seemed the training month with Anko had finally broken it into her.

"Naruto, you look… different," Shikamaru said in a bored voice. Naruto raised an eyebrow.

"Of course I look different… Do you really think that I would stay a annoying midget forever?"

"But you are really different, mmmm," Choji agreed with his best friend, while chomping down chips from his bag. "You look more powerful, more mature… totally unlike you, mmmm."

"I grew up, okay?" Naruto shrugged. He really didn't expect that his change in personality made everyone so surprised. Seriously, everyone grows, right?

'_**What they surprise about is that it was**_** you**_** who grew up,' **_Shukaku said dryly. Naruto growled in his head.

'_Yeah right, thanks a lot, _Shuki-chan_,' _he drawled, and Shukaku bristled.

Meanwhile, Haku turned to the ones she knew in the group. "Hyuuga-san, Aburame-san, Inuzuka-san. Nice to meet you again," she bowed politely.

She lifted her head, and was startled to see Hinata glaring at her with a menacing aura exuding out of her, while Kiba and Shino (?) seemed to cower in fear.

"Whaa…?"

Kiba hastily pulled Haku to a side and whispered.

"Haku-san, please don't do anything which can upset Hinata right now. You don't want to know what will happen if she's pissed off… well, after that incident in Waves, you know."

Haku blinked innocently. "Uh… what incident?"

Kiba facepalmed. "Um… this," he made a gesture resembling a kiss with his hands, "incident, do you remember?"

Haku's face heated up intensely when she remembered 'that'. "Oh…" she murmured.

But before Haku could say anything else, another voice rose behind the group.

"For a bunch of newbies, you sure are an interesting group, aren't you?"

Everyone turned toward the direction of the voice. And the rage inside Naruto immediately boiled up, as intense as a volcano going to erupt.

_Kabuto…_

"Who are you? You look suspicious," Ino asked, looking at the man warily. Kabuto chuckled.

"Just a veteran wanting to share some experience to the newbies. I've taken this exam before, you know."

"Really?" Neji, from behind the group, raised an eyebrow. "So you failed your first exam."

"Actually, this is my seventh time." Kabuto answered with a smile.

"Hah, you suck!" Kiba laughed.

Kabuto chuckled. "Well, let's look on the bright side; at least my failures provided me with important information about many things related to the exam. You see, I store them in these cards, and when I imbue them with chakra…"

But Naruto didn't pay attention to what Kabuto was saying any more. If Kabuto was here, that meant his suspicion was true: Orochimaru really was trying to mark Sasuke and attack the village during the exam. And right now he was in this room, disguising as someone…

Naruto took a quick glance around the room.

Gaara and his team were sitting in a desk in the middle of the room. The jinchuriki's killing intent was still leaking out, and he was glaring at Naruto and his team with a murderous gaze.

In a desk at the left corner of the room, a redhead wearing glasses was also staring at the group. Naruto thought vaguely; that girl was a member of Sasuke's crew after his defect during his time. What was her name… Rin? Kirin? Krillin? Ah, Karin. Naruto didn't know, but looking at her, he felt something… familiar. Her hair… it looked like that of his mother. He wondered if she was an Uzumaki like her…

And in the farthest corner… Naruto's stomach twisted with anger again.

_Orochimaru_.

Even under the disguise, Naruto could still feel him. There was no way a kunoichi of Kusagakure could smell that much like snake. And leaking out that much negative emotions didn't help, either. And it seemed he also felt Naruto's gaze over him, because he stuck out his long tongue and licked his lips just like a snake.

'_**Don't do anything reckless, Naruto,' **_Kokuoh warned him. _**'This is a room full of Genin; if you try something it will be disastrous. Keep it until after the first task. Or send a shadow clone to alert the Hokage first.' **_

"…the info on the participants isn't perfect, but I managed to get a good chunk of it."

He turned his eyes back to the group to see Kabuto showing off his cards to the Konoha 12. Naruto's eyes narrowed, but then he blinked when Sasuke and Sakura didn't react to the presence of those cards.

"Hey Sasuke, I'm going to the toilet. Keep my seat for me, okay?"

"Sure," Sasuke answered without taking his eyes off Kabuto. His Sharingan was locking on the older man's face with a look of suspicion. Naruto wondered what Sasuke was thinking. But whatever, alerting the old man was more important than this; he could bust Kabuto later.

When he arrived at the men's toilet, forming his signature cross-fingered hand seal was just child's play.

"Shadow Clone Jutsu!"

Even if Orochimaru was strong, he would not be able to get Sasuke and the village that easily, especially when Naruto was here.

And what is the best way to do that? Ruining the exam from the root, of course!

* * *

><p>"Jiji! Orochimaru is here!"<p>

Sarutobi stood up from his desk, pulled away his Hokage cloak to reveal his battle gear under it. In his face was a grim, but serious expression.

"It's time. ANBU, get ready for mobilization!"

"Yes sir!"

* * *

><p>Ibiki Morino, Chief of the Interrogation and Torture Division of Konohagakure, is a very well-known name in the Elemental Countries because of the man's ruthlessness when it comes to his job. Since his appointment to the position, there has been no shinobi who hasn't broken down after one or two of his "sessions".<p>

Even in mind games, he also proves to be a formidable enemy. Wonder why? Just look at the teams running away from the test room right now to know.

At least two third of the teams had been weeded out. Ibiki silently glanced around the room, and nearly snickered when everyone looked like they had just pissed themselves after his intimidating speech.

…or at least, until his eyes swept across a certain blond in black and orange jacket.

He scowled in annoyance. While other contestants were freaking out and desperatingly finding ways to cheat around, that brat simply did something even Ibiki couldn't expect and took a nap.

Normally, Ibiki would ignore him; it's not his job to take care of lazy napping brats.

But when the brat decided to mock him with a loud and clear snore in the middle of the panickingly silent room, a vein popped on Ibiki's forehead.

He walked quietly to the desk the blond was sitting, cleared his voice, and bellowed.

"Fifty minutes have passed! Everyone put down your pencil! It's time for the final question!"

He smirked in satisfaction when the blond screamed and fell out of his seat. Glancing at the paper on the desk, he saw that all the boxes for answers were still blank.

"Well, Uzumaki," he said. "If you do not want to do the exam, you can just quit and leave the room just like the others."

"For my teammates to skin me alive? No thanks," answered the brat, who had just climbed back onto the desk.

"Is that so?" Ibiki asked, looking at the paper in front of the blond. "But it seems what you're doing doesn't match what you said quite well, I think."

Naruto also looked at his paper. "Oh, this? I only need less than one minute to fill it."

Ibiki raised an eyebrow. "Really? Prove it, then."

The boy picked up his pencil, paused for a second and blinked, then started writing in an incredible speed which scared even Ibiki himself. In less than a minute, the paper was filled with words.

When Ibiki looked at the content of the paper, his eyebrows twitched even harder. All the answers were completely correct.

"What?" Naruto smirked under the glare of the Tokubetsu Jonin. "Too shock to even say anything, Sir Proctor?"

Ibiki shook his head to calm himself down. Just what kind of genin was Kakashi training anyway?

'_**Oh, the incredible kind of genin blessed with an embodiment of knowledge inside his stomach,' **_Kokuoh smirked inside Naruto's head.

Even a Tailed Beast needs to have some showing off moment, you know.

How the hell could he know what Ibiki was thinking, though?

"You got a nice pair of balls, brat." Ibiki grinned, his eyes gleamed dangerously. "But I wonder if that will be enough for the final question. There is an additional rule for this question: the rule of desperation. Before you take the question, you have to choose whether you want to take it or not. If you don't, your mark will immediately be reduced to zero, and you will fail along with your team!"

"What?" A mook in the back of the room yelled. "Then of course we will take the question!"

"I'm not finished yet," the proctor shot him a sharp glare. "If you choose to take the question and fail to answer it, you will lose the right to take the Chuunin Exam ever again!"

Silence filled the room.

After a few seconds, roars of protest exploded around.

"What? That's ridiculous!"

"This is insane!"

"Yeah! There are people who took the exam before!"

The Tokubetsu Jonin grinned menacingly. "Too bad for you, this time I'm the proctor, and I make the rules! You have one minute to decide; after that, all remaining in the room will be treated as agreed to the conditions and decided to take the question!"

'_**Hey, that guy is good,' **_Gyuuki noted when genin in the room started freaking out and running from the room. _**'Not everyone can be as good at mind games as him.'**_

'_**Yeah,' **_Isobu agreed. _**'Even the whole interrogation division of Kirigakure during Yagura's time couldn't compare to that guy alone.'**_

'_**Really, you guys should have seen Naruto's face when we first faced him,' **_Kurama snickered. _**'There's nothing that can be more hilarious than that, I say.'**_

'_Hey!'_

Finally, after a _long _time waiting, only twenty teams remained in the room, including the Konoha 12, Haku's team, Gaara's team, Kabuto's team, the team of the redhead from Kusagakure, and of course, the not-so-secret-any-more-to-Naruto Orochimaru's team.

Ibiki took a glance across the room again and asked. "I ask again, are the sixty of you that's left _absolutely sure _that you want to take the final question?"

Naruto finally lost his patience. "Look, old man, do you really have to repeat that question for about, let's see, thirty times? Your mind game trick is brilliant, I admit, but if you just repeat what you are doing again and again and again, it will just be more annoying than scary, you know."

Ibiki twitched. "You know what brat? I'm starting to hate you very much by now."

"Aw, don't be like that," Naruto drawled. "Everyone loves me, you know."

Sasuke gagged. Hinata and Haku giggled. Every other acquaintance of Naruto snorted.

Right on cue, Anko smashed through the windows. "You know what, Ibiki? That orange gaki got a point. You are surely losing your touch."

"You're early again, Anko." Ibiki glared at his fellow Tokubetsu Jonin. "The first task hasn't even finished yet."

"Yeah, but looking at what happens right now, it is clear that the great Ibiki Morino has lost to some snot-nosed brats! Seriously, 20 teams?" Anko grinned cheekily, and some examiners in the corner sniggered.

Ibiki's glare became even harder. "Do you want your salary to be cut next month, Anko?"

"Yeah, yeah," the female Tokubetsu Jonin waved her hand dismissively. "Anyway, you guys all passed the first test of the exam. But this is just the beginning! Now, follow me to the stage of the second test!"

* * *

><p>Ibiki let out a deep sigh when collecting the test papers of the contestants. This year's Chuunin Exam surely had some interesting faces…<p>

When he arrived at the blond brat's desk, he shook his head with a slight smile. Naruto Uzumaki… the jinchuriki of Konohagakure. He might be annoying, but Ibiki could see the great potential hidden inside him. No wonder the Hokage favored him so much…

His eyes narrowed when he lifted the boy's paper up.

He didn't notice it before, but right below the box for the ninth question now lay a small picture of a mole hidden under a helmet.

The mind of Ibiki didn't need more than one minute to figure out the connection.

He will need to speak to the Hokage about this.

* * *

><p>"Oh no, I'm not going to set foot into this place another time! Nuh uh, no way, never!"<p>

Naruto blinked as Sakura started freaking out when they arrived at the Forest of Death. "What's wrong Sakura?"

"This!" Sakura pointed at the dark forest with a shaken finger. "This is what's wrong! Everything horrible in Konohagakure is collected in this forest! If you go inside, there is a chance you will not come back out to say hello!"

Sasuke raised an eyebrow. "Are you sure you're not exaggerating, Sakura?"

"Of course I am!" Sakura exploded. "I've been stuck in this place for a whole month! I'd been ambushed days and nights by giant spiders, poisonous snakes, and even tigers with foot-long fangs! And the human-eating plants with nasty slimy tentacles! Oooh, and not to mention the giant blood-sucking leeches! Think about eating soup made of those for a month! And… Ow!"

Sakura's rant stopped abruptly as Anko's knuckle landed on her head.

"Stop that, Cherry. You're scaring everyone shitless."

The girl blinked and looked around. Everyone's faces were rather green. "Eh… oops?" she scratched her head sheepishly.

"However, what she said was not completely wrong," Anko's signature sadistic smile turned back on again. "Welcome to the stage of the second test, Training Ground 44, AKA the Forest of Death. Staying true to its name, there might be deaths involved in this part of the exam, so before we start, you will sign these agreement forms," she pulled out a stack of paper from under her coat. "If you don't, your death in the test will be all my responsibility, teehee."

Everyone gulped.

"Eh… is it possible to quit now?" Kabuto raised his hand. Anko just grinned.

"Nope. You're not allowed to quit until after the second test is done. Suck it up."

When Sasuke exchanged the three registration forms for Team 7's scroll, Naruto nudged Sakura. "Tentacles, eh?"

"Not that kind of tentacles, you pervert!"

Cue fist to the head.

* * *

><p>"So basically, what we have to do is to steal an Earth Scroll from another team and take it to the tower in the center of the forest within five days, right?" Naruto asked when they finally got into the forest. Sasuke nodded.<p>

"Right. And that means we will need to fight other teams in order to get the scroll. There might be a chance that the scroll our enemy holds will not be the scroll we need, so this is also a way to minimize the number of contestants for the next part of the exam, I suppose."

"So it means the more opponents we take out, the more advantage we will have in the next test?" Naruto grinned mischievously. "Well, then I have a plan. Shadow Clone Jutsu!"

With a loud pop, one hundred Naruto clones appeared. Naruto pulled out a scroll from his pocket, and unsealed it to reveal twenty five more scrolls. He distributed them to the clones, which formed groups of four, and with a nod, the groups split up to twenty five different directions.

"What are you doing, Naruto?" Sakura asked incredulously. Naruto answered with a foxy grin.

"Boobytrapping the whole forest, of course!"

Sakura blinked. "So those scrolls are…"

"Pranking tools!" answered Naruto happily. Sakura facepalmed.

"But how?" asked Sasuke. "I thought shadow clones are fragile and cannot withstand even one hit. What are you going to do with them?"

"Well, let's just say I have found a way for them to stay alive even after taking a nice chunk of hits," said Naruto.

00000

_(Flashback)_

"_Argh, damn it!" Naruto slumped on the ground, pouting. Try hard as he might, he still couldn't throw the Rasenshuriken without depending on the beasts' chakra. It would just fade away harmlessly after leaving his hand for half a second._

"_Well, the reason is obvious. Your chakra, while having quite a reserve, is just not dense enough for the shuriken to keep its shape after leaving your hand," Isobu, who had observed him practicing the jutsu for a while, said._

_Naruto blinked. "Dense? What do you mean?"_

_Isobu chuckled. "I will explain. First, create a shadow clone with your chakra, Naruto."_

_Naruto stared at the turtle-man incredulously, but complied. A poof of smoke, and a clone appeared next to him._

"_Good. Now, here's some of my chakra. Make a clone with it."_

_Immediately, Naruto felt the powerful chakra of the beast flowed through his chakra network. Another poof, and another clone appeared._

"_Good. Then…"_

_Isobu walked up, and punched both the clones in the face. _

_The clone made of Naruto's chakra simply dispersed in a poof of smoke. The clone made of Isobu's chakra, however, fell over with a thud, but didn't disappear. He jumped back on his feet, pointed at the turtle's face and yelled._

"_Hey! What the heck does that suppose to mean?"_

"_See that Naruto?" Isobu explained, ignoring the clone. "It's the same jutsu, but by using chakra in different qualities, it creates different result. The chakra I gave you is less than what you used to create your clone, but it is much, much denser than yours. Basically, if you rate your chakra in a ranking system, the quantity of chakra you have might be higher than A rank, but when it comes to quality, it is just D rank at the highest."_

"_So my chakra's quality sucks, huh…" Naruto muttered disappointedly. Isobu smiled, and slapped his shoulder._

"_Hey, don't be like that. You can actually train to improve the quality of your chakra, you know. It's a rather basic training for jonin-level and over shinobi. Why do you think that even the most basic jutsu in their hands becomes more powerful than yours?"_

"_Really?" Naruto's head perked up. "Can you teach me that?"_

_Isobu shrugged. "Of course. But since it is a training of your body, you cannot use clones for it, so it will take a while before your chakra can have a noticeable improvement. First you have to do this…"_

_(End flashback)_

00000

Sasuke snorted. "Oh please, all people participating in this exam are elite genin from all the villages in the Elemental Countries. Do you really think that they will fall for those tricks?"

Naruto grinned. "Well…"

00000

Zaku Abumi carefully looked around, then gave a signal for his team to advance. The team from Kirigakure, apparently, included two members of the new generation of the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist. The white-haired one didn't have a sword, but the one with glasses was holding something suspiciously similar to the legendary sword Hiramekarei, also known as the Twinsword.

Sure, their mission was to kill the Uchiha boy, but that sword was, no doubt, an incredible present for Orochimaru-sama. And he might even get the scroll his team needed. Two birds with one stone.

Besides, those Kiri newbies looked weak. How bad could it be?

TWANG!

A rope wrapped around his leg and sent him soaring into the air.

"Ambush! Hiramekarei Release! Hammer Form!"

A giant hammer made of chakra slammed into Zaku's two teammates' faces, blasting them into a tree nearby and effectively sending them into blissful unconsciousness.

At the same time, Zaku's face connected with the ground after falling from the height of more than twenty feet.

Well, he's not dead, but let's say the result was not very pretty.

"Uh… did I overdo it?"

"Nah, don't worry Chojuro-kun. They're trying to attack us first, anyway."

"Hey, this guy has an Earth Scroll!"

"Sweet, now we can go to the tower!"

00000

"…Yes. Yes I am."

Right on cue, explosions and screams echoed through the air.

Sakura shook her head. "You really scare me sometimes, Naruto."

Naruto grinned. "Hey, it's not my fault to be absolutely awesome!"

* * *

><p>'<em><strong>Naruto, to the left! Gust incoming!"<strong>_

Naruto immediately went through hand seals in reflex. "Wind Style: Great Breakthrough!"

The overcharged-with-Tailed Beast-chakra wind jutsu overpowered the incoming jutsu completely, and blasted the ambusher off together with about twenty trees.

"What are you doing?" Sasuke raised an eyebrow.

"I felt someone trying to attack us," Naruto shrugged. "Natural sensor, thanks to the Kyuubi, you know."

"Huh," Sasuke blinked. "Pretty neat trick, then. But at least you could leave them to see which scroll they have first."

"Being careful is important too, you know," Naruto shrugged again.

* * *

><p>A huge snake descended down Team 7's head. Its mouth gaped wide, aiming to swallow the whole team in one gulp.<p>

"Sweet! Lunch!"

A ball made of exploding tags was thrown into the snake's mouth, and one second later, it rained snake meat.

Sakura jumped down to the remain of the snake and pulled out a kunai. Much to Sasuke and Naruto's horror, she cut it into pieces and started making a bonfire to grill them.

"Want some?" she offered, giving Naruto and Sasuke a piece each. Naruto winced while staring at the meatstick.

"Eh… are you sure it is edible?"

Sakura snorted. "A snake's venom is contained somewhere near its eyes. Destroy the head, and the body becomes very delicious food. Come on, try it, Sasuke-kun, Naruto!"

Sasuke stared at the meat warily, then shrugged and took a bite. "Huh, you're right. It tastes like chicken," he blinked.

"How do you know so much about this, Sakura?" Naruto asked while chewing on his food. Sakura just smiled.

"I practically lived in this forest for a month; what do you expect? At least this is much better than centipede stew, you know."

The two boys winced. "True."

* * *

><p>Orochimaru was scowling.<p>

He had spent half a year planning for this. Had everything gone according to plan, he would have taken the face of a Kusagakure genin, enter the Chuunin Exam, mark Sasuke-kun before leaving quietly, then start a war during the final test, kill his stupid old sensei and destroy the Leaf!

Too bad for him, only the first part of the plan actually worked properly. Everything started to go wrong when he entered the Forest of Death.

First, the traps. Orochimaru still shuddered whenever he thought about them. Kunai, kunai everywhere. With explosive tags. And poison on top. And somehow, Orochimaru, an S-rank shinobi, didn't manage to detect any of those traps. Seriously, did Sarutobi-sensei snap and decide to booby-trap the whole forest with lethal weapons that exploded?

Then, when he finally got close to Sasuke-kun's team, that blond teammate of him blasted him into the fucking SKY with an absurdly powerful wind jutsu. Sure, it wasn't enough to actually kill him, but it still freaking _hurt._

And now, his other teammate decided to turn one of his summons into _lunch_.

Seriously, he just wanted a good body for himself! Was that a bit too much to ask?

Maybe it would be better for him to face them himself…

* * *

><p>Killing intent filled the air.<p>

Sakura and Sasuke gasped for air and collapsed to the ground. Naruto, in contrast, just stared at Orochimaru while scratching his ears.

"You're not scared?"

"Nah, your killing intent sucks. The Kyuubi is much scarier than you." Naruto answered nonchalantly.

Orochimaru chuckled. "Kukuku… very interesting, Naruto-kun. I'll just kill you first, then."

He drew Kusanagi, and with a quick movement, stabbed Naruto in the stomach.

The three genin exploded violently.

"Oh yeah!" The real Naruto popped out from the ground nearby, pumping his fist to the sky. "A direct hit! Thank you, Itachi!"

"Did… did you just blow that man up?" Sakura gaped from a branch nearby. Naruto shook his head.

"Nah, he is Orochimaru of the Sannin. He's not down yet."

The real Orochimaru emerged from the ground nearby. "So you know who I am…" he chuckled menacingly. "But no matter… because I'm here for Sasuke-kun over there, kukuku…"

Naruto made a face. "So Orochimaru of the Sannin is a gay pedophile who lusts after twelve-year-old boys? That's just gross."

"I'm not a gay pedophile!" Orochimaru protested. "I just want his body!"

"That is even more disgusting," Sakura gagged.

Orochimaru twitched. "Okay, that's it. I will just mark Sasuke-kun and get out of here." He made a hand seal, and his neck lengthened.

"Oh no, you don't!" Sasuke snapped. His rage and fear of being molested by a pedophile somehow overwhelmed his fear of death. "There's no way I'm letting such a disgusting person as you go anywhere near my body! Genjutsu: Sharingan!"

Immediately, Orochimaru's body stiffened, and he felt like there was a bunch of stakes driven through his body.

"Damn it… this genjutsu again…"

Being paralyzed by the genjutsu, he had no way to dodge when the lightning-imbued sword of Sasuke cut cleanly through his body, splitting it apart at his waist. Snakes immediately came out of the two halves, connecting them together again.

"Okay," he muttered. "That kinda hurt. Since when has genin become so competent?"

"Fire Style: Great Fire Annihilation!"

Orochimaru quickly made a Mud Wall to block the sea of fire from turning him into barbecue. "Now the personal jutsu of Madara Uchiha? What the hell?"

"Chidori Sharp Spear!"

A spear of lightning pierced through the wall and impaled him with extreme prejudice.

"Okay," another body crawled out of his mouth, "this is getting silly."

Then Orochimaru heard loud screeching behind him.

He turned back, and saw a shuriken made of chakra flying towards him.

"Aw, shit."

He hastily slammed his hands to the ground, summoning the Triple Rashomon to block the Rasenshuriken right before the jutsu collided with the gate.

A deafening bang shook the ground. A sphere of chakra exploded from the collision and covered the three gates in tiny blades of wind.

At the same time, a hand grabbed Sasuke's neck and pulled him away.

"Let's run!"

When the tornado died down, a terrifying scene of devastation was unveiled.

The three Rashomon gates were all destroyed horribly. The first one, which took the full blow of the jutsu, was utterly obliterated. The second one was blasted completely off its hinges and the third one had one of its doors in pieces.

Oh, and Orochimaru was buried headfirst on the ground to the waist.

When Orochimaru finally managed to pull himself out of his burial hole, the clearing was void of people.

"Damn."

Like adding salt to the wound, right at that time, a whole battalion of ANBU flickered into the clearing.

"Orochimaru! By the order of the Hokage, you are under arrest!"

Orochimaru decided to abandon the plan and run the hell away. Sure, ANBU are basically cannon fodders, but a whole battalion of them is not something to underestimate. There are still many other chances for him to get his hand on the Uchiha boy, anyway.

* * *

><p>"Goddamn. What the hell is that jutsu you used against Orochimaru, Naruto? Where did you learn it?" Sasuke asked when Team 7 was jumping from branch to branch towards the tower in the center of the forest.<p>

"Actually, it is a jutsu I created myself when trying to improve another one of my jutsu. It is a wind element jutsu, called Wind Style: Rasenshuriken," Naruto smiled. "But it is one of the most costly jutsu I've ever seen or heard in my life. I have to use one shadow clone to create it, and using it thrice exhausted me completely. And I need to add the Kyuubi's chakra into it if I want to throw it, otherwise it will destroy my arm."

He deliberately left out the part that he could use it as much as he could with the help of the beasts inside him.

Sasuke winced. A jutsu that exhausts _Naruto _of all people is definitely not something he can learn. And the 'destroy my arm' part…

Maybe he will just stick to the Chidori for the sake of his health.

"Damn it," he pouted. "Why is it that only you can learn overpowered destructive jutsu? Having a Tailed Beast sealed inside you is just not fair!"

'_**Actually, it's more like **_**nine **_**Tailed Beasts sealed inside him,' **_Shukaku inside Naruto commented smartly. Of course, Sasuke couldn't hear it.

"Yeah. But you have the _Sharingan_. You stopped _Orochimaru_ of all people on his way with a _glare._ How is that considered 'fair'?"

That immediately shut Sasuke up.

"I really hate you when you make sense, Naruto."

"Speaking about which," Sakura suddenly said, "you seem to be much smarter and wiser these days, Naruto. What happened to you?"

Naruto chuckled. "Well, let's just say when you befriend a thousand-year-old being inside your stomach, there is much more you get from her rather than just some chakra."

'_**Sure, just blame everything on poor old Kurama,' **_Kurama muttered.

Sakura drawled sarcastically. "Yeah, sure. The crazy Kyuubi who tried to flatten Konoha twelve years ago taught you how to be smart and wise. Right."

"Hey, don't be so mean," Naruto defended. "She's just ax crazy because she was hypnotized by the bastard who attacked the village. When she's not being controlled, she's pretty harmless."

'_**Harmless?! Ooh, I'll show you harmless!' **_Kurama growled, and the other beasts snickered.

"Wait," Sasuke suddenly cut in. "You said 'she'. The Kyuubi is female?!"

"Yup!" Naruto nodded.

"Okay, it's final," Sasuke muttered, palming his forehead. "This world really is going crazy."

"Hey, boss!" A Naruto clone landed in front of them. He handed out an Earth Scroll. "We found this on a bunch of fodders from Rain. Tried to ambush us, and got a bunch of tranquilizers to the face."

"Awesome!" Naruto gave his clone a thumb-up. "Now we can be the first ones arriving in the tower!"

"Actually, Haku-chan's team got there first. Got their scroll on the team from Oto, I think. Man, that guy really knows how to fly."

"Huh," Naruto blinked. "Oh well, at least we're one of the teams that finish early. Alright, dispel!"

After the clone disappeared in a puff of smoke, Naruto turned back to his teammates and grinned.

"Let's go, guys! To the tower!"

* * *

><p><strong>Well, there's chapter 12.<strong>

**So basically, the Naruto we know somehow accidentally switched place with the Naruto of the past timeline. That's the reason why both sets of Tailed Beasts can exist at the same time, except for Kurama, of course. And what happened to the Naruto of the past is to your imagination. All I can say is it's not very pretty.**

**Orochimaru's plan is ruined... at least for the marking part. But will he give up? Will the battle of Konoha happen like in Naruto's timeline?**

**Stay tuned! And please review!**


	13. Chapter 13: Preliminary! Part 1

**Phew! I'm finally done with this new chapter.**

**Sorry for the delay. I had a lot of work to do during the last month. My graduation thesis was completed, and I'm in the middle of finding a job now. It takes a whole lot of time from me xD**

**Also, the preliminary is longer than I thought. I had to split it into two parts, because it wouldn't make sense if a chapter was suddenly much longer than the others. I actually planned for this to be a double update, but I cannot finish the second part in time. So sorry :(**

**Anyway, please enjoy the first part of the preliminary!**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 13: There Is Still a Preliminary?! <strong>

**Part 1: Saikyo's Story**

When Naruto pushed the front gate of the tower opened, he was taken aback as not only Haku's team, but everyone of the Konoha 12 was all there.

"Ah, it's Naruto and his team," Shino said flatly. Naruto gaped.

"What the… how could you guys get here so fast?"

"Somehow we all found the forest littered with unconscious genin, with kunai, shuriken, burned explosive tags and many other things scattered around them," Shikamaru answered with a shrug. "It made everything less troublesome a little bit, though."

"Yeah, mmmm," Choji added, while chewing on his chips. "The one we found our scroll on looked like he took a kitchen sink and a toilet seat to the head, mmmm. Poor him…"

The other members of Team 7 shot glares at Naruto.

"What?" the blonde protested. "It's not like they were my fault! That just proves that my idea worked like a charm!"

"IT WAS **YOU**?!"

"Gah!"

Everyone hurriedly moved to pull Kiba away from Naruto when the Inuzuka's hands closed around the blond boy's neck and **squeezed.**

"Let me go! Let me go you idiots! Let me kill him!" Kiba screamed hysterically while struggling like crazy against the arms of Choji, Shino and Lee. "Release me! I order you! Release meeeeee!"

"What's wrong with him?" Sasuke asked Hinata, who was looking at her teammate with worrying eyes. The Hyuuga girl shook her head.

"Oh, Kiba-kun suffered quite badly with those traps," she explained. "He was stuck in a sheet of cloth drenched in glue, covered in tar and chicken feather, blasted in the face with a cloud of pepper and thrown into a river with all those on his body. Oh, and he ate a stink bomb by mistake."

"LET ME GO! LET ME AT HIM! I'LL KILL HIM!"

Everyone winced. "Poor him," Haku said sympathetically.

"Even to Kiba, that was still too much," Shikamaru added.

"Hmph," Neji, from behind, spoke up with a sneer. "Relying on petty tricks like that… How pathetic. That was the only thing a dead last like you was worthy of."

Naruto ignored him.

"LET ME GO! DAMN YOU! I SAID… guh."

That last sound was due to Sakura chopping him at the back of his neck, sending him into the land of unconsciousness.

"What the… what did you just do?" Ino gaped in horror. Sakura shrugged nonchalantly.

"Well, he's too loud; I just made him sleep for a while."

Meanwhile, Naruto was staring at Hinata as if she was an alien.

The Hyuuga girl blushed. "Um… what's wrong, Naruto-kun?"

"You just completed a very long sentence without any stuttering. That was awesome, Hinata-chan! You finally got rid of your bad habit!"

Hinata's blush deepened, but she didn't say anything else.

"Uh, guys," the voice of Tenten suddenly rose behind them. "What do you think we should do with these?" She held up the two scrolls.

Naruto grinned. "Open them up, of course!"

Shikamaru raised an eyebrow. "But didn't that proctor say that we couldn't open them?"

"That crazy lady only said that we couldn't open them until we get to the tower, right?" Naruto answered with another grin. "Now we're in the tower, why shouldn't we open them?"

"But what will happen if we open them?" Haku asked worriedly.

"Who knows? But that will make it more fun!"

Everyone shuddered. Naruto's definition of 'fun', after the forest event, has become something utterly dangerous in their point of view.

"All right. Here goes nothing…"

All the scrolls were opened at the same time. When exposed to the air, the inside parts of the scrolls started smoking.

"Wah!"

Startled, everyone threw their scrolls to the ground as if they were made of acid. The scrolls, lying on each other, smoked even more, and started glowing red. Everyone braced themselves, preparing for a fight when the scrolls exploded and covered the room with a cloud of white smoke.

When the smoke cleared, the genin were all treated with a bizarre, but pretty funny scene.

In front of them were their jonin sensei, well, most of them, sprawling in a clusterfuck on the ground.

Zabuza was at the bottom of the human pile; his face was planted to the ground by Asuma's butt. The latter was lying back first on the huge Kubikiribocho, facing Kurenai in a position that made their… ahem… rather private parts rubbing against each other, and her well-endowed breasts landing right on his hands (not that he minded anyway). And on top of them was Gai, lying across Kurenai's back with a dazed expression on his face.

The only one standing was Kakashi, who had his favourite orange book on his hand as usual.

"Well, that's weird," Kakashi noted in an amusing tone when realizing what happened to his fellow jonin.

"Owww…" groaned Gai. "What the heck happened? Why are we lying on top of each other like this? This is so unyouthful!"

A lusty moan from Kurenai answered him. It was because Asuma just squeezed her breasts.

All the genin blushed.

"Ew," Ino winced in disgust. "This is definitely not something I want to see."

Kakashi chuckled. "Kurenai, Asuma, would you mind if I say you should leave your intimate moment till you get back to your bedroom? Because you are scarring our students over there. Besides, I don't think Zabuza appreciates it very much."

"Mmmmmmpppppphhhhhh!" From below Asuma's behind, the Devil of the Hidden Mist screamed (or at least, tried to) in agreement.

Kurenai's face immediately reddened, and she jumped away from Asuma, so fast that she threw Gai off her back. The taijutsu master was flung away, his bottom slammed hard on the ground and his body skidded a few meters before stopping at a wall nearby.

Disturbingly, on Asuma's face was a happy, dazed expression.

"Uhh… what are you doing here?" Tenten asked hesitantly. Immediately, Gai flipped back up as if his back had a spring under it, and brandished his trademark youthful thumb-up.

"Ah, don't worry my youthful students! We are here to greet you and congratulate you for completing the second part of the Chuunin Exam!"

"Yosh! We finally did it!" Lee pumped his fist to the sky and hollered. Gai also howled, tears started falling from his eyes like two tiny waterfalls.

"I'm so proud of you Lee!"

"Gai-sensei!"

"Lee!"

"Gai-sensei!"

"Lee!"

"Ahh! What was that?" Haku's teammate, Chojuro, screamed when the "sunrise genjutsu" started forming on the background. Tenten sighed.

"Trust me, you don't want to know. Just ignore it."

"It's still kinda disturbing, though," Naruto winced. "How is it that I, the one completely immune to genjutsu, can see it so clearly and is completely unable to dispel it?"

"You're immune to genjutsu?" Shikamaru glanced at Naruto questioningly. The latter shrugged.

"It's a long story."

"Still," Asuma said, finally managed to get a hold of himself, "getting through the Forest of Death in just half a day is quite an accomplishment. How did all of you manage to do that?"

Everyone glanced at Naruto.

"Oh, come on! Why are you all glaring at me as if I was a criminal?!" Naruto protested, and Sasuke snorted.

"Because you are the one that caused all of this, that's why."

"Fuck you, Sasuke!"

* * *

><p>"So you failed to capture Orochimaru."<p>

"We're sorry, Hokage-sama," the ANBU captain with the owl mask bowed his head. "We tried our best, but Orochimaru ran away too fast. What we didn't understand was the fact that he ran away right after he saw us. Considering his ability, he might be able to hold himself against us for quite a while, or even outright defeat us."

"It's alright, I forgive you. But," the old Hokage continued in an amusing tone, "if you look at this, you will understand why Orochimaru had to run away."

The ANBU captain looked behind his Hokage's back, and his eyes widened. Had he not wearing a mask, everyone could have seen how many teeth he had in his mouth.

"Holy crap… what kind of jutsu can make **this **kind of damage?" he stuttered, pointing at the ridiculously large crater which he clearly remembered didn't exist in the forest the previous day. Lying inside it were fragments of something that looked suspiciously like a thirty-inch-thick door of a gate.

_And that's why you don't mess with a jinchuriki with full control of his Tailed Beast, coming back from the future, Orochimaru, _Sarutobi thought with a slight smirk.

* * *

><p>Naruto was bored out of his mind.<p>

No one had ever told him that he had to stay in the tower until the second task was over. It's not like they didn't have enough for him to live here, but seriously, it's so boring! They didn't even have ramen in the menu!

Right now, he was sitting on the bed in his team's room. Sasuke and Sakura had gone to the main hall for a spar. Having nothing else to do, he ran through the process of constructing a blueprint for Creation of All Things once again.

It's worth noting that Naruto couldn't do the technique with the original instruction from the Beasts. It's just too complex, too abstract for a slow brain like his to follow. So Naruto did something no one could ever expect: he copied the steps of a similar technique in a certain novel he had read to replace what the Beasts taught him.

And, surprisingly, it _worked_.

He concentrated on the image of a kunai in his head.

_Judging the concept of creation. __Hypothesizing the basic structure. Duplicating the material. _These steps were easy. The kunai is so familiar a tool to shinobi that he didn't even have to wrack his brain for it. A knife. Steel. Twenty five centimeters long. Pointy at the tip, with a double-edge blade. Cloth wrapped around the handle.

_Imitating the processes of its making. _He struggled briefly as his brain attempted to recall every process perfectly. In his mind, the image of a blacksmith slamming his hammer down on the anvil flashed.

_Sympathizing with the experience of its growth. Reproducing the accumulated years. _

Naruto winced. These steps were always the most difficult. This is the main obstacle which hinders him from creating objects, or rather, recreating already existing ones. Try hard as he might, he couldn't seem to grasp all events the knife on his hand, or everything he wanted to create, had experienced during their lives. It was a step that was just beyond his ability. Because of that, he could never create anything which could be considered 'perfect'. Even the clothes he was wearing right now would just disappear after a month at best, and a few minutes at worst.

And he has to learn everything, yes, _everything _about the object he wants to create by heart if he wants to recreate it. The structure, the materials, the history, everything. It's not like he has an infinite library which can record everything he sees in a blink of an eye, anyway.

Luckily for him, he had managed to find a way around that. By altering the design of the thing he wanted to recreate slightly, for example, making a sleeveless and orange jacket instead of an originally black and sleeved one with similar design, he turned it into a completely new creation that never existed before, and thus had absolutely no history in its life; basically giving the creation the history it never had. Thanks to this, creating a blueprint became much easier for him.

Well, only if the design in his head was, fortunately, unique, anyway. There might be a chance that the design was used without his knowing. Therefore, his Creation of All Things didn't always work as it should be. And if he couldn't even do something like creating inanimated things properly, the higher levels like modifying his body, or creating living things would be next to impossible.

He sighed and relaxed, and the half-completed blueprint in his head faded away.

'_**Good job onii-chan, you already had a grasp of it,' **_Saikyo smiled her satisfaction.

'_Yeah…' _Naruto sighed. _'But this is still nowhere near perfect! If I cannot use it perfectly, how can I hope of creating awesome living things like the Sage or old man Hashirama?'_

Not noticing the cringing of the slug at mentioning of the name, Naruto blurted out what he just remembered. _'Speaking of old man Hashirama… Saikyo-chan, how did he die? He is so incredible his power was enough to subdue Madara, and he also had someone like you with him… Saikyo-chan? Saikyo-chan, are you there?'_

No answer. The connection between Naruto and the slug was completely cut off.

Naruto started panicking. What the heck had happened to her?

'_**Do you even have to ask? You screwed up. BIG.'**_

The voice of Kurama suddenly rising in his head made him jumped from the bed.

'_Kurama! What do you mean I screwed up?'_

The vixen sighed. _**'Come into your mindscape and I will explain.'**_

* * *

><p>"So what did I do wrong, Kurama?"<p>

The vixen didn't give a straight answer. Rather, she asked.

"**Do you know about the Uzumaki clan, Naruto?"**

Naruto was startled. The Uzumaki clan… it was his clan. The clan with exceptional mastery in fuinjutsu. The clan with the powerful chakra and life force, together with incredible longevity. The clan which has the deepest alliance with the Senju clan and Konohagakure since the beginning of the village. And the clan which was wiped out sometimes after his mother, Kushina, settled in Konoha.

But what does it have to do with Saikyo…?

As if understanding what Naruto was thinking, Kurama said. **"The destruction of the Uzumaki clan and Uzushiogakure is very famous. However, there is another battle involving the Uzumaki clan which was never shown in any historical document. It was the battle that took the life of Hashirama."**

Naruto's curiosity was aroused. "What happened there?"

Kurama closed her eyes. **"It was during a visit of Hashirama and his wife to Uzushiogakure when he was still the First Hokage. In this day of destiny, an alliance of Kumogakure, Iwagakure and Kirigakure decided to attack the village. Being the ally of Uzushiogakure, of course Hashirama and Mito went to help. With the assistance from the man called as the God of Shinobi, Uzushiogakure managed to hold them in a stalemate, and nearly turned the table…"**

"Wow! Old man Hashirama was awesome!" Naruto cheered happily, pumping his fists.

"…**until Madara appeared."**

Naruto's hands froze in midair. "What?"

"**You heard me," **Kurama nodded bitterly. **"Madara was the one behind the attack. And unlike before, this time he had awakened the Rinnegan from the piece of DNA he took from Hashirama during the battle at the Valley. Like that wasn't enough… he also managed to seal me into him. Yeah, Hashirama didn't reclaim me after the battle at the Valley as many had mistaken."**

Blood in Naruto's veins went cold after this declaration.

"**That's right," **Kurama continued. **"With the Rinnegan and my chakra, his power finally surpassed Hashirama. He would have completely flattened Uzushiogakure with his Chibaku Tensei had Hashirama not taunted him to lure him to the sea outside of the village. And they fought."**

"Then? What happened next? Did old man Hashirama win?" Naruto asked in thrill, and Kurama nodded with a sigh.

"**Yes, he did. Even overpowered, Hashirama managed to defeat Madara, again. But that victory came with a heavy price. Right before he could land the killing blow on Madara, he hesitated. I didn't know what he was thinking, but his hand just stopped before his final jutsu landed on Madara. And that's what that despicable Uchiha had been waiting for. He took the opening Hashirama made to impale him and tried to pull his soul out with the Human Path. But Hashirama's extreme willpower, or maybe Saikyo inside him, I don't know, somehow held his soul back long enough for him to perform a jutsu that ripped me off Madara's body."**

If Naruto's shock and awe had been great before this, it was nothing comparing to how he looked now. The expression in his face was a mixture of horror, amazement and curiosity.

"Then…"

"**He died," **Kurama answered curtly. **"That final jutsu took everything left in Hashirama's body, and his soul was pulled away. But that didn't make Madara the winner. You already knew what would happen if a Tailed Beast was ripped off the jinchuriki. Madara, thanks to his Rinnegan and Hashirama's DNA, didn't die, but his body was so messed up that he couldn't even use another simple jutsu just to take himself out of there. Even the Rinnegan couldn't fix his body after that. Had it not been for me… well… going rampage after that, and someone rescued him, he would have been killed by Mito and the Uzumaki clan. I'm sorry," **she added with a hint of embarrassment and regret in her tone**. **

"So that's how Mito-baachan became your jinchuriki…" Naruto mumbled, and Kurama nodded.

"**Yes. After that, leaders of the five Great Shinobi Villages and the Uzumaki clan had a meeting. The Mizukage, the Raikage and the Tsuchikage didn't want to admit their fault. They were too embarrassed to admit the fact that not one, but three Kage of Great Villages were tricked and controlled by one man so easily and effortlessly. After three days of argument, they finally came to an agreement that the event would not be recorded into history, and no one would ever speak about it again. That's why only very few people knew about it, and most of them were dead already."**

"I see… But what does that have to do with Saikyo-chan anyway?" Naruto asked in confusion.

"**Because Saikyo thought that it was her fault Hashirama died."**

Naruto jumped. The other beasts had come behind him since who knows when.

"**After she revived, she was nothing like the Saikyo we knew any more. She became shy, withdrawn and cold to nearly everyone. When she was with Utakata, she seemed to open herself a little bit… but now, after his death… I don't know…" **said Matatabi sadly.

"How did she work that one out?" Naruto asked, horrified.

"**Well, she was together with Hashirama-san when they fought Madara, right?" **Chomei shrugged… well, sort of. **"I think she feels that if only she had worked more perfectly with the old man, Madara couldn't have murdered him."**

"**Yeah," **Kokuoh agreed. **"And I think that's why she can't use her power like she used to. It's just like… she's having trouble with it. Before, whenever we went rampaging, she would always be there to stop us. After Hashirama's death…"**

"Really? I thought she's awesome as she is now. Didn't she use her Wood Style to restrain Kurama and Chomei before?"

Kurama rolled her eyes. **"She used to make the whole forest around Konoha together with Hashirama. Now she could only make mere vines. Is that what you call 'not having trouble', Naruto?"**

"**That's right," **Matatabi added. **"And that's only when she's in a good mood. When her mood's down, she couldn't use her power at all. It just doesn't manifest, no matter how hard she try. Poor girl…"**

Naruto's brain went numb and frozen. If what the beasts said was true, he really did screw up.

"No, no, wait," Naruto suddenly waved his hand while shaking his head frantically. "That doesn't make sense at all! If that's the case, why should Saikyo-chan worry about it? It's not like it's her fault, right? She couldn't do anything about it!"

The Tailed Beasts looked at each other awkwardly.

"**Naruto, that's exactly why she blamed herself," **Gyuuki shook his head. **"It is survivor's guilt, you know. I think you of all people would be the one who understand this best. Do you remember when Neji died to protect you? Do you remember when Hinata and Sakura were impaled while trying to save you? You were there, looking at them dying, and couldn't do anything to help. Have you ever feel hopeless and regret that you were alive, but all the other ones close to you were dead right before your eyes? Worse, when they die because of you?" **

When Naruto nodded dumbly, he nodded and continued.** "Well, Saikyo is the same. Tailed Beast or not, she is still a girl. And you cannot expect a girl to take it as well as a boy. Come to think of it, being a Tailed Beast only makes it worse. Tailed Beasts usually don't have friends. Almost everyone treats us as monsters or weapons; even other animals are scared of us. It is very rare for us to have someone who cares for us, or treats us as equal. And Saikyo got two of them killed right in front of her eyes. Do you think that will not leave a scar to her mind?"**

Naruto couldn't find any word to reply. What Gyuuki said was true; when the old man was killed by Orochimaru, he wasn't even there to help. He didn't even know that his grandfather figure was killed until after he subdued Gaara and returned to the village. After that, despite not expressing his sadness out in the open, he hadn't been able to sleep at all for over a month. And that's when he was still a kid.

And after his precious people were murdered by Madara in that final battle of destiny, isn't it true that he lost all his will to fight and let himself be captured by the mad Uchiha?

Naruto suddenly bolted up from his sitting place.

"**What are you doing, Naruto?" **Isobu asked. Naruto answered him with a serious expression.

"I'm going to find her. I screwed up; I will have to fix it."

* * *

><p>Saikyo, in her human form, was curling up inside a cave on a mountain in Naruto's mindscape, crying her heart out.<p>

It's not like she wanted to do that. But whenever the name Hashirama was spoken of, horrible memories of that day immediately rushed back into her head.

Different from humans, Tailed Beasts do not age. They were created with the mindsets of different ages right at the beginning. They stay in the world as long as there is still chakra; yet their minds stay the same, no matter how long they exist. Because of that, although having knowledge and power, Saikyo was still just a twelve-year-old kid in mind.

And a kid's mind, no matter how old she is, is no way enough to stand the trauma of having her most precious person, the first person after her Father who treated her as family, being killed right in front of her. Just like Sasuke had suffered when Itachi killed his father and mother. Even Utakata-niichan, the one who acted as her brother figure later, couldn't replace him in her mind.

But Saikyo isn't Sasuke. She isn't a boy. She didn't go around spouting nonsense about revenge. Instead, she curled up into a ball and cried.

Being named "the strongest" by Father and her siblings, she was blessed with the power to give lives and solve conflicts. Yet she is just a pathetic kid who couldn't do anything to save the people she loves.

Burying her face on her knees, Saikyo continued crying, even harder than before.

"Saikyo-chan! Finally found you!"

She lifted her head, and realized that she was looking into a pair of blue eyes.

"Onii-chan…"

Naruto sat down next to her and grinned awkwardly while scratching his head. In his smile, there was a hint of sadness and regret.

"Um… Saikyo-chan… I'm really sorry for hurting your feeling before… I didn't know that you had to suffer so much…"

The slug girl didn't answer. Instead, her face sunk even further into her knees.

"No, no, please, don't cry again!" Naruto hastily said, waving his hands. "Looking at you crying hurts me so much… I don't want to see you like this… please…"

He sighed in relief when she only let out a slight sniffle.

"But Saikyo-chan… I know I'm not in the position to tell you this, but please don't blame yourself too much about it," he continued. "I don't think Hashirama-jiji will be pleased to see you like this. How can he rest comfortably in heaven if he knew you tortured yourself whenever you thought about him?"

"You don't understand…" she murmured quietly, and Naruto nodded with a sigh.

"Yeah, it might be true that I cannot understand what you have been through. But I know what it feels when my precious people die. When the Old Man was killed… I wasn't even there to help him. It's not better than being unable to do anything to help. And… I was devastated. I felt that I was useless; I couldn't even protect the person I loved the most in this world. It felt like the world was collapsing around me. He was… well, the first person in this world who had been nice to be, and the closest one I have for a father and a grandfather. I couldn't stop crying for a week."

Saikyo's eyes widened under her bangs. Naruto-nii-chan… he was just like her.

Naruto stopped and took a deep breath. "But then… When I finally managed to calm myself down, I started thinking. No matter how much I cry, he is never coming back to us. But his death was not meaningless. He offered his life to stop a very dangerous person who tried to destroy our village. He faced death at will for the sake of the village. That was something which must be honored, not mourned about. So I pushed my sadness away. I thought that if I continued torturing myself like that, it would just be the same as spitting on his efforts. And all the others who had died for me… well, I used to lost myself when I saw them dying in front of me, but now, when I think of them, I feel like their powers are flowing through my veins. They gave me their strength, and their hopes for a good future, and I won't let their efforts wasted."

The images of Neji, Hinata, Sakura, Sasuke and all the other people who died in the final battle flashed across his eyes. He had to close them to stop the tears from spilling out.

"I'm not trying to tell you to throw the image of Hashirama-jiji out of your head, Saikyo-chan," Naruto continued. "But please remember, he is not the only one who loves you in this world. You still have your brothers and sisters, and you have me, too. Seeing you like this hurt me so much. I cannot say that I will be the one who replaces Hashirama-jiji, but I swear on my life that I will do everything I can for you, and I will protect you with everything I got. After all, an older brother protects his younger sister, right?" he added with a grin.

The slug's eyes widened even further. Protecting his younger sister…

"_Saikyo, no matter what you did before, you are still the one I consider my little sister. And I will not let you be taken by those Akatsuki! I will do everything to protect you, even if it cost me my life!"_

Utakata-nii-chan had said that to her when they're facing Pain. He's the same… as Naruto-nii-chan…

"Waa?"

Naruto was startled when Saikyo suddenly grabbed his shirt and cried her heart into it.

"Please onii-chan…" she whispered between hiccups. "Please don't leave me again… Everyone who is close to me all left me… I can't take it anymore… If you leave… I…. Please, stay with me… Don't leave me…"

Naruto couldn't say a word for a while. Then, he smiled and hugged Saikyo, while patting the girl's hair gently.

"It's okay… I'm not going anywhere… I'll be here for you, always…"

In the real world, the sun was descending down the horizon.

* * *

><p>"First of all, congratulation on passing the second task of the Chuunin Exam!"<p>

The voice of the Third Hokage boomed around the hall.

It's the end of the fifth day, and now, all the remaining competitors were gathering in the great hall of the tower.

Naruto looked around. This time, there were also 21 competitors left, including all the Rookie 12 of Konoha and the Sand Siblings. Though, Kabuto's team and the team from Sound couldn't make it this time. Replacing them were Haku's team and the team of the redhead from Kusagakure.

He zoned out from the speech of the old man about the exam being a life-risking battle, a form of war for the allied villages, blah blah blah, and Hayate announcing the preliminary.

'_You know, I've been wondering. How could it be that the ones who got pass the forest in our time were all rookies? Isn't this forest a hard challenge even for experienced chuunin?'_

'_**Yeah, but that's because your creator said so. Besides, you guys are main characters. If the main characters were excluded, what would the story become?'**_

'_Well, now that you said…'_

Stop demolishing the fourth wall, you two!

**"**"**Yes, **sir…"**"**

* * *

><p>Kabuto walked out of the forest with a smile. His mission as a spy was completed. He had researched the village thoroughly during his time here, and known all about every shinobi of all ranks in the village. Now, everything was in their place for the invasion to start…<p>

Although, he couldn't find any other information about the mysterious Team 7 lead by Kakashi, except for the old ones from their first A-rank mission to Waves. But no matter… he will get them later. They're just genin, so how hard can it be?

His train of thought was cut abruptly when Ibiki Morino appeared in front of him, with ten ANBU surrounding him.

"Kabuto Yakushi, under the order of the Hokage, you are under arrest for traitorous actions against Konohagakure!"

_Crap._

* * *

><p><strong>Sakura Haruno vs. nameless Grass mook #1<strong>

"Ha! As if a pathetic little girl like me can do anything to me! This jutsu of mine will… HIIIIIIIIIIIIIII!"

The Grass ninja foamed at the mouth and collapsed to the ground after letting out a girlish scream, his eyes rolling back into his head. At the same time, all males in the room cringed and suddenly had the same urge to cover their crotches.

"W… winner, Sakura Haruno!"

"Sa… Sakura…" Naruto sputtered when the girl arrived at the place where Team 7 was standing on the balcony. "Why did you do that?"

"Oh, that," Sakura answered nonchalantly. "Anko-sensei taught me that the most effective way to fight is to aim for the most delicate and mortal place on the body, and launch one decisive strike. And one of those positions on a male's body is his crotch."

Sasuke and Naruto unconsciously inched away from Sakura.

And Kakashi now started regretting his decision of leaving his student on the hand of a sadist like Anko.

* * *

><p><strong>Shikamaru Nara vs. nameless Grass mook #2<strong>

"I still have to fight? What a drag…"

The ninja from Grass looked at the pineapple head in front of him with wary eyes. His teammate was taken down by the Konoha kunoichi in one hit. So he couldn't afford to be careless against those Konoha shinobi.

"Start!"

That brat looked quite weak physically. He decided to launch a taijutsu move at him to test.

Shikamaru dodged, then turned tail and… ran away.

"What the…?"

That's what every genin except for Naruto and Team 10's members chorused when they saw what was happening.

"Damn it, brat! Stop running away and fight me!"

"No, that's too troublesome," was the only answer.

"Is he always like this?" Kiba asked when Shikamaru and his opponent started chasing each other around the arena. Chouji nodded while chewing.

"Mmmm. But I think he has a plan. There is always a plan in his head, mmmm."

Then suddenly, the Grass genin stopped dead on his track.

He found that he couldn't even move a muscle.

"Shadow Possession Jutsu, success." Shikamaru said in a bored tone.

"How…?" the Grass nin croaked out the only word he could mutter.

Instead of answering, Shikamaru looked up. The Grass shinobi's head rose with the motion, and his eyes widened.

"No way… the balcony…"

"Yes, the balcony," the Nara boy smirked. "Because of the light of this room, its shadow is pretty large. I ran away just to lead you into its shadow, and use that shadow to extend my own shadow until it reached yours."

"Shadow jutsu of the Nara clan," Asuma smiled proudly. "Specializes in immobilizing enemies. Very effective in team fights, but only for the people with sharp mind and quick thinking, just like Shikamaru."

"Wow, Shikamaru is awesome!" Kiba exclaimed.

Shikamaru reached out his hands and did some motions behind his head. At the same time, the Grass genin's headband dropped to the ground with a loud "clang".

Then he proceeded to smash his poor opponent's head against the wall.

After five minutes, the Grass jonin managed to croak out his forfeit, then fainted.

Sasuke palmed his face. "I really don't know what to say about this match."

"Winner, Shikamaru Nara!"

* * *

><p><strong>Rock Lee vs. Ino Yamanaka<strong>

"Gai-sensei, I cannot fight her! She is a girl! Hurting a girl is unyouthful!"

Ino's forehead popped a vein. "What do you mean when you say I am a girl?"

"Never say that my youthful student! The person in front of you is not a girl now! She is a youthful opponent, and by defeating her, the power of youth will explode once again!"

Another vein popped on Ino's forehead. "Okay, now _what _do you mean when you say I'm not a girl?"

"Yosh! Then I will let all the power of my youth explode! Leaf Hurricane!"

"Wait, wha…"

BAM! CRASH! CRASH! CRASH!

Sakura winced. "Poor Ino…"

"Yeah," Naruto agreed. "The power of youth is definitely not something to be underestimated."

"Winner, Rock Lee!"

* * *

><p>"Three matches are done. That was fast," Naruto blinked.<p>

"Yeah, but they cannot be considered 'matches'," Sasuke shook his head. "Sakura literally broke her opponent with a kick to the nut. Shikamaru did almost nothing other than running away. And the bushy brow's match… no, just no. Seriously, is this the Chuunin exam or a joke?"

"So to you, only a fight with flashy explosive jutsu is good?" Naruto raised an eyebrow. Sasuke turned slightly red.

"I didn't say that!"

"Then it's your chance now," Naruto smirked, and pointed at the name board. Sasuke followed his finger, and also smirked.

* * *

><p><strong>Sasuke Uchiha vs. Shiro Ichigaki<strong>

"Who is Shiro Ichigaki?"

From the other side of the balcony, the white haired teammate of Haku jumped down to the arena.

"A member of the new Seven Swordsmen of the Mist… equal to Zabuza…" Sasuke's grin became wider. "This is a good chance to show the fruit of all the training I did last month!"

Then without another word, he jumped across the banister.

'_**That Sasuke… He might not be the one obsessing with revenge like before, but his thirst for power is still there…' **_Gyuuki said worriedly. _**'If Madara can get a hand on him in the future…'**_

'_Don't worry Gyuuki,' _Naruto interrupted him in a firm tone. _'This time I am here. If Madara wants to get to him, he will have to face me first. I will not let Sasuke fall into the hand of evil again. I swear on my life.'_

"Sasuke Uchiha-san," the boy gave a slight bow. "I've heard about you from Zabuza-sensei and Haku-san. You are a formidable opponent, and I cannot let my guard down against you."

"Big words from the one who doesn't even have a sword," Sasuke taunted him, but the expression on the Mist swordsman didn't even faze a bit.

"It's true I don't have a legendary sword of my own. But that doesn't mean I do not have my own sword to fight with."

With two loud pops and a burst of smoke, two short, broad swords fell into Shiro's hands. Sasuke smirked, and drew his own katana.

"Then let's see how good you are with those swords."

00000

"Two swords?" Kakashi looked at Zabuza. "You are training him to wield Kiba?"

"What does he have to do with me?" Kiba asked in confusion. Kakashi shook his head.

"Not you, Kiba. Kiba is the name of a pair of swords in the seven Legendary Swords of Kirigakure. They are called the sharpest swords in existence, not only because they can boost the power of their wielder to the utmost limit, but also because they can transform the nature of their owner's chakra channeling into them into lightning, enhancing their cutting power greatly to the point that almost nothing in the world can survive a slash from them. As far as I know, they also allow the wielder to manipulate real lightning freely with only a little bit of chakra."

"Just as expected from Kakashi of the Sharingan, always has the information in his brain, eh?" Zabuza smirked. "This boy is not the strongest shinobi in Kirigakure, but his potential is incredible."

"I see," Kakashi gave a furtive smile from under his mask. "But my student is not someone to be underestimated either, Zabuza."

00000

"BEGIN!"

With a kick to the ground, the white haired swordsman dashed forward.

"That's not going to work!"

His charge was stopped. Sasuke was a natural in swordfighting. His katana was longer than Shiro's short swords. And the reckless movement of the Kiri boy had too many openings. With the Sharingan, they were easy to see.

A thrust was aimed at Shiro's exposed stomach.

CLANG!

Steel met steel. Sasuke's thrust was smashed away by one of the shorter swords. The shortswords don't have the length, but they have the mass. Sasuke could feel his hand shaking lightly from the collision.

The other one, at the same time, swung at Sasuke's neck.

And with the Sharingan, Sasuke could see the real threat behind it. The descending sword was coated in lightning chakra.

"Tch…!"

The Uchiha boy ducked, letting the lightning-imbued sword soar over his head.

_Very well, if you want to play that game…_

The katana in Sasuke's hand started glowing with electricity. He struck again; this time at Shiro's chest, where there was no protection, and showing another glaring opening…

His katana was swatted away again, by another lightning-coated sword.

"Damn it…"

00000

On the balcony, Kakashi was staring at Zabuza with a horrified eye.

"Zabuza, why did you teach that boy this kind of fighting style? It is too dangerous for a boy that age!"

Zabuza smirked. Without his old bandages, everyone could see the menacing shark-like fangs in his mouth.

"Kirigakure has different ways of training shinobi from Konohagakure, Kakashi. Besides, I am not the one who taught him that sword style. He created it himself."

"He… created it himself…?" Kakashi's visible eye widened.

"That's right," Zabuza nodded. "He has been longing to be the wielder of Kiba since he was a child. No one in Kirigakure had experience of fighting with twin swords, and he couldn't hope to access the Mizukage's vault for the secret of Kiba's swordplay. So he just practiced that absurd style again and again, and after 10 years, he finally managed to perfect it enough for a real fight."

"After 10 years… wait. How old is he right now?"

"Fifteen."

"Since 5… so he is a genius…" Kakashi muttered. But Zabuza cut in.

"Genius? Oh please, he is anything but a genius. He is just a normal genin as any other genin in this world. He is not good at genjutsu; his ninjutsu and taijutsu are just adequate. The only thing he can be called 'good' at is kenjutsu. It's his dream to become the strongest swordsman in the world that pushed him to the limit, making him the one he is today. Unlike Konohagakure, Kirigakure does not need _geniuses" _he sneered in the 'geniuses' word, "to keep it strong… in the reign of our new Mizukage."

Kakashi couldn't find a word to say.

At the far corner, Neji Hyuuga snorted. There is no way a nameless normal person can ever catch up to a true genius. It's their destiny to fall against geniuses like him.

00000

Sasuke was frustrated. There was nothing special about that guy's fighting style. It was crude, reckless, and full of holes. Yet, he couldn't even find a way to land a hit on him.

It's just like… he let him see the openings on purpose. No matter how fast he struck, the short swords were always there, blocking his attacks completely.

His Sharingan allowed him to avoid all the attacks from his opponent, but if he couldn't even land a hit on Shiro, all the fighting would be meaningless. In fact, he was being pushed back, further and further, by the advancing Shiro.

Who could possibly think that Sasuke Uchiha, a member of the Uchiha clan, possessing the fully unlocked Sharingan and a natural mastery of kenjutsu, was being overwhelmed by a nameless genin in close combat?

He gritted his teeth. If kenjutsu didn't work, he would have to try another way.

He jumped back a few steps, throwing his sword to the sky and weaved through hand seals.

"Fire Style: Fire Ball Jutsu!"

A fire ball, much stronger than what Sasuke could have used before, shot out from his mouth towards Shiro in a very fast speed. It seemed Shiro was too surprised to do anything against it. A loud 'boom', and the room was covered in smoke.

"Is it over?" Haku asked worriedly. Zabuza shook his head.

"No; not yet."

Thirty seconds passed, and Shiro emerged from behind the smoke. His body was full of scorching marks, but he wasn't injured.

"How is it possible? We all saw him being hit!" Ino exclaimed in surprise.

"He drenched himself with a water jutsu right before the fireball hit," Kakashi answered her. No one had realized him pulling his headband up. His Sharingan now glued to the battle in the arena with unusual interest. "It decreased the power of the fire jutsu considerably."

"You are a very powerful opponent, Uchiha-san. I don't want to do this, but with an opponent like you, I cannot afford to hold back anymore. Hidden Mist Jutsu!"

'_Say what?!' _was the shared thought of all Team 7 and Team 8 members right now.

Mist started to gather inside the room. Sasuke cringed; subjected to this jutsu once, he knew how deadly it could be, and what would happen if he could not find a way to counter it.

00000

"Why did Sasuke-kun retreat like that?" Sakura questioned when she saw Sasuke jumped to the corner of the room and stayed there.

"That's the only thing he could do, Sakura," Kakashi answered. "Within the mistscreen, visual is useless. He cannot see where his opponent is, so he has to retreat into the corner to limit the directions Shiro can attack him from. Quick thinking."

Then he threw a dirty look towards Zabuza. The Mist swordsman only smirked.

The jutsu finally covered the whole arena, blocking the vision of everyone from the two combatants. What they could see now in the arena was only white mist.

Neji activated his Byakugan, then winced and shut them immediately.

"I… can't see anything. All I can see is chakra. What is this…?" _What in the world can block the vision of the Byakugan?_

"The Hidden Mist Jutsu is the secret jutsu of Kirigakure. It can block any type of vision; even the three Great Doujutsu cannot see through it!" Zabuza boasted.

However, Kakashi could feel a very slight hint of worry in Zabuza's voice.

_Could it be…?_

"There! They started!" Sakura yelled, and everyone turned their head to hear the sound of steel clashing against steel again.

Wait a second…

"How could it be?" Zabuza startled, his hands gripping the rail unconsciously squeezed it. "How could he fend off Shiro when they're inside the Mist?"

"Once again," Kakashi chuckled, "you underestimated my student, Zabuza. The Uchiha clan… their doujutsu is only one thing that made them the most powerful clan of Konohagakure. Fighting is in their genetics. Even without the Sharingan, their abilities in combat are still the most terrifying in Konohagakure. They don't always need their eyes to fight."

Zabuza's eyes widened. "You mean… the Uchiha boy is fighting my student only with pure instinct!? That's impossible!"

"Ah, but that's the truth!" Kakashi gave him an eyesmile. "Luckily I trained him to fight without depending on his eyes for a whole month before the exam!"

"Why didn't you teach me that, sensei?" Naruto pouted. Kakashi shook his head while chuckling.

"You were trained by Jiraiya-sama, Naruto. Isn't he way better than a mere jonin like me?"

Naruto wisely shut up.

00000

Hidden Mist Jutsu is the core element of Kirigakure's famous Silent Killing assassination technique. It completely blocks the vision of the target, allowing the user to close in when the target is still confused and panic of losing their sight and deliver a decisive blow. It is what made the name of the Devil of the Hidden Mist, as well as all the other members of the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist.

However, the technique has three glaring weaknesses.

First, despite the fact that the Hidden Mist can hide the user from view, and Silent Killing can eliminate the sound, the user can still be tracked by smell. A tracker using the sense of smell, such as Kiba, can easily track down the user with his incredible nose. And a sensor can also follow the user, although with more difficulty as the mist is made from chakra.

Second, the technique blocks the vision of the target, but it also means that the vision of the user is also blocked. Because of that, the technique only works if the target is panicked and stays in one place, or the user is a good tracker of smell or sound himself. Zabuza is a master in mind assault, so it is not hard for him to keep his targets in one place just by words alone. But with other people… it's not that easy.

And third, it costs a humongous amount of chakra. Because of that, users of the Silent Killing technique usually tend to find ways to finish their fight as fast as possible.

And that was the problem for Shiro at the moment.

An apprentice of the Devil of the Hidden Mist or not, he is still a genin. And a genin only has a limited amount of chakra. The Hidden Mist Jutsu is his final trump card; when he uses it, he must make sure that he can finish his opponent as quickly as possible.

However, he couldn't. He didn't expect the Uchiha boy to fight back so valiantly and stubbornly, even under such a huge disadvantage. Almost all the attacks he threw at him were blocked. It's just like the Uchiha's instinct had manifested a third eye which could see through even the mist.

And he could feel his chakra level dropping quickly.

But it's not like he couldn't do anything to the Uchiha. Even though the sword of Sasuke had been blocking most of his strikes, there were two or three strikes that went through and managed to injure him. He didn't know which part of the boy was struck, but he could see blood on his blades. There's no way the raven-haired boy could prolong this fight further with all those injuries. If he continued pressing on, he would win for sure.

But the matter was… how long further could he press on?

His chakra was only enough to maintain the Hidden Mist Jutsu for about three more minutes. It would not be enough to force the Uchiha to lose. There was only one choice…

He jumped back and focused, pushing more chakra into the jutsu. The mist screen now became so thick that even if they stood face to face, they wouldn't be able to see each other.

He will put everything into this last strike. Even if he must kill Sasuke, he has to win…

And his instinct screamed at him to dodge.

He leaned to one side, right before a shuriken soared pass his face.

From inside the mist, shuriken after shuriken was flying out every direction.

He hastily stepped back and swung his swords to smash away the projectiles flying around him. What was his opponent doing? Sure, it might be easier hitting him in the mist that way, but he could block everything of that level.

His back touched something that felt like a string.

"Finally got you! Lightning Style: Shocking Web!"

Immediately, Shiro felt like there was a thousand volts of electricity running through his body. He gasped in pain; his lungs felt like they were being grilled in a blast furnace, and all of his muscles felt cold and numb. The Mist swordsman's body started losing its senses, and he felt like his heart stopped for a moment. He dropped his swords and collapsed.

Then it stopped. Only then he could feel the wires cutting into his skin.

"How…?"

The mist started clearing, and everyone in the room, except for Sasuke, all gasped in chorus when they saw what happened.

A whole corner of the room, where Sasuke had jumped into to protect himself from the assault of Shiro, was covered in shuriken. And each shuriken had a ninja wire tied onto it. They were, right now, forming a metal web, which the Mist ninja was now trapped in. And judging on the jutsu Sasuke had just yelled the name, this web was full of high voltage electricity just about one minute ago.

And Sasuke's katana was now pointing at Shiro's neck.

"Forfeit, or I will have to hurt you."

Everything was decided. Shiro's limbs slumped down on the net tying him.

"I forfeit."

And with that, the fourth match of the preliminary was concluded.

"Winner, Sasuke Uchiha!"

* * *

><p>"You're so awesome, Sasuke-kun!"<p>

Sasuke winced when the voices of Sakura and Ino slammed into his ears at the same time. The blonde glared at Sakura, but the pinkette ignored her.

"Hmph," Neji sneered. "A lowly commoner like him does not stand a chance against a genius. That's his destiny to lose."

Everyone glared at the Hyuuga. Surprisingly, it was Sasuke who raised his voice first.

"Didn't you see what happened? I nearly lost out there," he scowled.

"No way. You're Sasuke-kun! How can you lose?" Ino dismissed him with a swoon, and Sasuke didn't bother to answer her. Instead, he unsheathed his sword. It was full of scratches, chips and cracks. After leaving the sheath, the blade crumbled.

"Great, now I need a new sword," he groaned in annoyance.

"Uhm, I don't want to interrupt but…" Hinata's voice rose from behind them, "…you're bleeding, Sasuke-san. I think you should go to the medic…"

True to the words, Sasuke's right arm was having a pretty nasty cut on it. Blood was leaking out from the gaping wound.

"I'm fine," Sasuke shook his head. He didn't want to show weakness in front of anyone.

"Don't worry, I got it," Sakura suddenly said. She put her hands on Sasuke's wound, and they started glowing green. Immediately, the wound started closing.

"You learned medical jutsu?" Naruto quirked an eyebrow, while Ino glared at Sakura's hands with extreme jealousy. Sakura smiled happily.

"Yup! Anko-sensei gave me a scroll of medical jutsu during my training. She didn't have any use of it, so she dumped it to me. But it's kinda fun! I learned many things in that scroll, mainly basic healing jutsu and stuff. It's useful for surviving in the forest, you know."

"Bookworm," Naruto muttered, and received a bop to the head.

"What's wrong with being a bookworm, huh?"

"Uh oh," Kiba suddenly muttered in a worried voice. "This is not good."

"What's wrong Kiba?" Naruto asked in confusion. "What is not goo… oh, crap."

The screen was now showing the names of the combatants for the next match.

**Hinata Hyuuga vs. Neji Hyuuga**

'_**There are things that cannot be changed, even with time traveling,' **_Kurama shook her head sagely.

* * *

><p><strong>Definition<strong>

**Lightning Style: Shocking Web**

**Classification: Ninjutsu, Shurikenjutsu**

**Rank: B**

**Class: Offensive**

**Element: Lightning**

**Range: Close to Mid-range**

**A lightning style ninjutsu developed by Sasuke Uchiha under the instruction of Kakashi Hatake. Using a combination of shuriken, kunai and ninja wires, the user might either create a web of metal strings around his enemies, or tying the enemies up with the ninja wires. After that, the user channel a large amount of lightning-element chakra through the wires, shocking the enemies with high-voltage electricity. This jutsu is similar to the Uchiha clan's Fire Style: Dragon Flame Jutsu, only replacing the fire stream with a stream of electricity.**

**Instead of the ninja wires, the user can use this jutsu on any electricity-conducting objects, such as metal pipes, water, etc. However, as electricity is very hard to control, there might be a risk that the jutsu will hurt other people if they touch the object.**

* * *

><p><strong>And cut!<strong>

**The reason why and how Hashirama was killed was finally revealed. The truth is, I don't like the explanation in canon about the battle in the Valley of the End. Sure, Kaguya as the first notable female antagonist of the story is cool, but it feels like Kishimoto added her into the story without even thinking of even what he said himself. Infinite Tsukuyomi required the moon to be casted, and Hagoromo was the one who created it. So how the hell did Kaguya use Infinite Tsukuyomi in the first place? Through the television network?**

**Sasuke finally got to show off (parts of) his training. And a new jutsu. Hope the battle is good enough for you :p**

**And for anyone who was wondering, Shiro Ichigaki is not that Shirou. Shiro(白) means white in Japanese, referring to his white hair. Although there is still a reference to the other Shirou in his skills and characteristics :3 At first I chose the name Takuto for him, but for some weird reason, I finally decided to change his name into this.**

**Please review!**


	14. Chapter 14: Preliminary! Part 2

**The chapters are getting longer and longer, and harder and harder to write.**

**But anyway, the second part of the preliminary is here! What would happen? Enjoy the chapter to find out!**

**Disclaimer: If I owned Naruto, Kakashi would be given the two Mangekyo Sharingan in a better situation. But sadly, Masashi Kishimoto owns it, so...**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 14: There Is Still a Preliminary!? (cont)<strong>

**Part 2: Duels of Destiny!**

"This is bad. Very, very bad."

Naruto looked at Kiba, whose hands were gripping the rail with such strength that it might rip the metal pipe off, and faked innocence.

"What's wrong Kiba? I know Neji is powerful, but it can't be that bad, can it?"

"You don't understand, Naruto," Kiba shook his head; his knuckle had become white from squeezing the rail too hard. "I've only met that Neji guy once before, but I could literally see the hostility he had towards Hinata. And here, when we arrived at the tower, his team was here first, and it happened again. It's not normal hostility; it's killing intent. It's just like… he wanted to murder her. And now he has the chance."

"You're kidding," Sakura asked in disbelief. "They're siblings, right? Why would Neji want to kill Hinata?"

"Actually, they're not siblings," Kakashi explained. "They are both members of the Hyuuga clan, but Hinata is a member of the Main House, and Neji is in the Branch House. Many things have happened between the two Houses for years, and they do not get along very well."

"But that doesn't make sense!" Ino protested. "Even if they have some disputes, it cannot be so bad that they want to kill each other… right?"

She faltered when seeing the face of the jonin.

"I don't know much about this but," Lee said, "in order to protect the bloodline of the Hyuuga Clan, the Main House has established rules which clearly put the Branch House into disadvantages. The Branch House is always inferior, and because of that they all bear grudges on the Main House. I think that's why Neji-san hates Hinata-san so much."

"That's right," Kurenai agreed. "And I think that put Hinata in an extreme disadvantage now. She obviously doesn't want to hurt Neji, while he won't hesitate to take her down with everything he has."

Everyone looked at the arena, where the two Hyuuga were facing each other, with worried eyes.

* * *

><p>"Before we fight, I want to say something. You will never make a good shinobi, so forfeit now before you're hurt."<p>

Neji looked at Hinata with a glare full of hatred and loatheness.

"You are too kind. You always wish to avoid fighting, and you have no confidence in yourself. You are a spoiled brat of the Main House, and you forced yourself to enter this exam, thinking that if you can help your team pass the exam, you can change yourself. But you will not be able to do it. People cannot change themselves. In this world, there are geniuses, and there are failures. Failures will always be failures; their personality and strength will not change. Just like…"

"Please stop it, Neji-nii-san."

Neji's rant was cut off abruptedly. Hinata's words were said with such a confidence and power that even Neji himself was startled.

"It is true I don't like fighting, and I don't want to hurt people. But that doesn't mean I cannot change myself. There is someone… he used to be the dead last, the joke of the class, the one who always got laughed at by everyone… But he has never thought of giving up. He always believes that even a failure like him can someday become better, and he never stops pushing himself to the limit… He is the one who taught me that running away will not help solving any problem. If he can change himself, there is no way I cannot!"

"You don't get it at all…" Neji shook his head. "Destiny cannot be changed. You're destined to be a failure of the Hyuuga Clan, just like I'm to be a Branch member. It cannot be changed. It can never be changed. Just like how my father died because of the Main House."

The temperature in the room suddenly dropped. Everyone could see Hinata cringing when the words "my father" were said out loud.

"Very well," Neji said, lowering his stance. At the corner of his eyes, veins bulged up, signaling the activation of the Byakugan. "If you insist, I will show you the different between a genius and a failure."

Hinata's lips trembled, but then her eyes steeled up, and she also lowered her stance, Byakugan activated.

"And I will show you that even destiny can be changed! Neji-nii-san, let's go!"

And the two combatants charged.

* * *

><p>"Naruto, you really did rub it off on her, didn't you?" Sasuke raised an eyebrow at Naruto.<p>

Our protagonist blushed. "Why do you think it's me she's talking about?"

Sasuke just rolled his eyes.

"Still," Ino said, "I'm so surprised about her. Who could have known that our quiet and sweet Hinata can be this strong? She is going toe to toe with that Neji guy!"

True, Hinata was, right now, doing an incredible job fending off Neji's relentless assault. Even though her attacks on Neji were not very effective, the Hyuuga boy also couldn't land a clean hit on her.

"You don't know what that girl can do," Kurenai shook her head. "Since we arrived home from the mission in Waves, Hinata has completely changed. She is no more the shy and cowardly girl who doesn't know anything but running. For her to become like this… it's all thanks to you, Naruto," she gave the blond boy a smile.

Naruto scratched his head sheepishly.

_Still, _Kurenai thought, _even with all the changes she has made, Hinata still has a fatal weakness. Will she be able to finish the match before Neji can figure it out…?_

* * *

><p>Some people might think that a fight between two people using the same fighting style is boring, as everything the combatants launch at each other will be the same, and the match will last very, very long without a clear winner.<p>

Well, it definitely isn't the case with this match. It's long, alright, but it is no way boring.

Left arm. Right shoulder. Head. Stomach. Spleen. Right arm. Left thigh.

Blocked. Blocked. Blocked. Blocked. Blocked. Blocked. Blocked.

Neji was frustrated. Not only that, surprised too.

He didn't expect someone like Hinata could fend off his attacks like this. Hinata, the weakest member of the Hyuuga Clan as far as he knows, the one who is considered the failure of the clan, was blocking all of his strikes. Not only that, she was _fighting back_.

Worse, what she was using to fight him was not Gentle Fist.

To be exact, it _is _Gentle Fist, but at the same time, it isn't. All the basic elements of the Gentle Fist were there: the all-seeing ability of the Byakugan, the application of chakra into the strikes to attack the inner organs. But the stance, the movement… they're all different. The stance of the usual Gentle Fist Neji, as well as all members of the Hyuuga Clan, uses, was firm and rigid, aiming mainly on attacking and finishing people quickly with lethal piercing strikes to the inner organs and the tenketsu.

The stance Hinata was using right now… it wasn't the normal Gentle Fist stance. It wasn't even battle stance. Her movement was so flexible it felt like the flow of a river. It's just like… she's dancing across the rain of palms aiming at her.

And somehow, it managed to deflect most of the strikes.

He wanted to use the Eight Trigrams, but whenever he made some distance to go into the stance, Hinata would close in immediately and effectively negated his intending attacks with her own flurry of strikes.

It's just like the perfect counter to the normal Gentle Fist…!

However, it doesn't mean the style has no weakness.

After another unsuccessful barrage of strikes from Neji, the two Hyuuga separated, and Neji jumped back a few steps.

"You managed to defend against my attacks so far," he sneered. "But will you be able to keep up with me any longer?"

Hinata was now trembling and breathing heavily.

Sure, her new Gentle Fist stance is innovative and effective, but it is in no way perfect. It was a style Hinata and Kurenai thought of just a month ago, and all the practice she had was only in that month. There are a lot of redundant movements, and since Kurenai weren't a taijutsu specialist, she couldn't fix all of them for Hinata. Thus, when she and Neji traded blows, some of the strikes still managed to hit her, though not fatal.

And…

"You cannot hide it from my eyes. Your stamina has reached its limit. And I have landed hits on you. With that exhausted body, how much longer can you hold it?" Neji smirked while glaring at the trembling Hinata.

Hinata winced. The hits of Neji, while not fatal, couldn't be said to not cause any harm. She could already feel some parts in her body becoming numb. Her chakra was not completely blocked, but its sensation was getting weaker inside her body.

_Not yet. I still have one more trump card left…_

"One more time, I'll ask you Hinata-sama," Neji said again with the same threatening tone. "Forfeit now; or I won't take any responsibility for what's going to happen."

"N… no…" Hinata choked out between heavy breathes. "If I give up now… then all I said before will be meaningless… I won't go back on my words… because… that is also my ninja way…"

Neji scowled. "You stubborn… You can barely stand, I can see that. No matter how hard you trained, you can never defeat me. People cannot change; that's destiny. Why pushing yourself like that, to make yourself suffer?"

"I… am not suffering…"

Neji's eyes narrowed. "What?"

"It is not me… who's suffering right now…" Hinata repeated weakly. "Neji-nii-san, you are the one who is always torturing yourself within the destiny of the Branch House… I don't want to see you like that… I want to save you from that fate… so…"

Veins bulged up even more around Neji's eyes, and his face suddenly twisted into an expression of fury. Without another word, he charged at Hinata full speed, his hand aimed directly at her heart.

_This is it… This is the time…_

"Gentle Step Protection…"

_What…?_

In front of him, Hinata's arms started moving. Not lashing out at him to attack. Not moving aside to swat away his strikes.

No, she was waving her arms wildly around her body.

_What the hell…?_

Neji's instinct was screaming at him to stop the charge, but he was too close to Hinata now; he couldn't stop…

"… Eight Trigrams: Thirty-two Palms."

And Neji felt himself slammed into an invisible wall of force in front of him. Pain wracked through his body; he was thrown away a few feet, his body crashed into the ground with a loud 'thud'.

"What… what is that technique…? It is not… Gentle Fist…" He grunted out in pain, while trying to push himself up from the ground.

"It _is… _Gentle Fist, Neji-nii-san…" answered Hinata, who was now standing over him. She was still breathing heavily, but she was not trembling anymore. "But… this is what I created… based on the Eight Trigrams. It is not… a technique… created to harm people… It is… a technique created to… protect…," she added between breaths. "I created it… not only to protect my friends… but also to save you… from the darkness of vengeance…"

She reached out one of her hand to him with a slight smile. "This match is over… Please forfeit, I don't want to hurt you any more…"

For the first time in his life, Neji Hyuuga, the genius of the Hyuuga Clan, was made sprawling on the ground defeated, by Hinata Hyuuga, the failure of the clan, no less…

And she was showing him pity.

"And what will you do if I don't?" he snarled darkly. His voice was very small, to the level of a whisper which no one could hear, but enough for Hinata, who was the one standing closest to him, to be able to hear every word. "Kill me? Just like _you_ already did to _my father_?"

Those words of Neji had an effect of a hammer strike. Hinata did a double-take; her hand reaching out was retracted abruptly. She stumbled back a few steps and stammered, her eyes glancing around hysterically.

"No… that's not true… I didn't…"

The opening she let out was exactly what Neji needed.

"Hinata-chan! Watch out!"

Naruto's yell snapped Hinata out of her stupor, but it was too late. Neji's two palms already drilled into her stomach. The poor girl gasped out; pain wracked through her liver, as if there were thousands of needles stabbed into it at the same time. Or more exactly, like a drill pierced without any hesitation into them.

But Neji didn't even have the intention to stop. Jabs after jabs were launched at where the vital organs of her body lied, each of which was packed with enough power to destroy said organs. That was not the Eight Trigrams; the techniques were invented with the purpose of disabling the enemy. What Neji was doing right now was just brutal, mindless jabs launched in vengeance with the aim of murdering…

Hinata screamed and stumbled back; her body felt like it was shattering, everything she could feel was pain. Blood spewed out from her mouth; she was going to die…

The last jab was launched at where Hinata's heart was. It was too fast, and she couldn't even move her body to dodge it…

Then Neji's hand stopped abruptly right before it touched Hinata's chest.

More exactly, it _was _stopped. All the jonin had jumped down and grabbed Neji before the final strike could land on Hinata. Kakashi was holding his stretching arm. Asuma was grasping his neck in a rear choke. Kurenai was crouching on the ground, holding his other arm back. And Gai was standing in front of him, gripping his wrist with one hand; his face was full of disappointment and disbelief.

"Special treatment for the Main House again…" Neji scowled in disdain, and _disappointment_. Gai glared at him with a stern eye.

"That's enough, Neji. Didn't I tell you not to lose your head over this matter?"

Neji snorted, but he didn't say anything else. He turned to Hayate, who was standing at the side dumbfounded. "So what now, referee? Declare the winner already. She cannot even stand up now."

The chuunin shook his head to snap his brain out of its stupor. "Er… right. Winner Neji Hyuuga!"

On the ground, Hinata puked out another puddle of blood.

"Medic! By Kami, come here fast!" Kurenai screamed, and three medical ninja flickered into the arena. One of them put his glowing hand on Hinata's body, scanning it quickly until stopping at her stomach. Then he lifted his head up and yelled to his partners.

"Left lung was punctured! Half of the liver was crushed and unable to work properly! Internal bleeding at extreme level! The patience is losing consciousness! Prepare the emergency procedures immediately!"

Everyone, except Neji, paled. Even without medical knowledge, they could know that with such fatal injuries, a normal person would have died in five minutes. The fact that Hinata could hold out until now was a miracle. But even with that miracle, she would not last much longer…!

"Damn it! It's not working; her heartbeat is going erratic! Her life force is fading away!"

Naruto's brain froze. Hinata was going to die, again… And he's here, once again, helpless…

'_**I can help, onii-chan.'**_

The voice of Saikyo inside his head startled him.

'_Huh? Saikyo-chan? How…'_

Then he remembered. Saikyo has the power over life energy. If he can use her power on Hinata… she might be saved…

But with the mind state of Saikyo right now… will it be able to work…?

No, there is no time to doubt. This is the time; he has to trust with all his hope in his instinct, and in Saikyo-chan…!

"Excuse me! Let me go through!"

Naruto immediately forced his way through the group of medic-nin. One of them noticed him and yelled.

"This is not the time genin! You got no job over here!"

But the man faltered when Kakashi's hand suddenly squeezed his shoulder, more forcefully than he'd ever felt before. He gulped, and allowed the boy to go through.

Naruto sighed in relief, and pushed through the crowd, putting his hands on Hinata's chest.

A warm, lively stream of chakra started flowing from Naruto's hand into Hinata's body. But instead of vivid red, it's green now like a normal medical jutsu, albeit with a very slight tint of brown. Hinata's body cringed up slightly, but then quickly relaxed. Her breathing started returning to normal, and her complexion slowly got its color back.

"Incredible…" another of the medic team muttered. "Her condition was stabilized! It's just like a miracle!"

"That level of medical jutsu… It might rival even Tsunade-sama!"

"Just what kind of genin is Kakashi training?"

Yeah, the Medic Corps of Konohagakure are full of idiots. They cannot even distinguish a normal medical jutsu for something completely different. Tsunade would have thrown a fit if she'd seen what happened to the division she had established and trained by herself after she'd left the village.

It's Naruto's luck, though.

"Well, what are you waiting for?" Kakashi said loudly. "That girl is still in a critical condition! Take her for intensive care unless you want her to die!"

"Ah… right…" Realizing their mistake, the medic team hastily put Hinata on a stretcher and took her away. After everyone had returned to their places, Kakashi whispered to Naruto.

"Close shave, Naruto."

"Yeah," Naruto murmured back. "Thank you Kakashi-sensei". _'And thank you too, Saikyo-chan! You're the best!'_

Naruto couldn't see it, but he could swear that he felt something on Saikyo's face that he'd never seen before. A big, hearty smile.

* * *

><p>"Now Naruto is a medic now?" Kiba raised an eyebrow. "When did you learn them, Naruto? If Sakura becomes one, it's understandable, but you?"<p>

"Well, it's a secret!" Naruto answered, while giving his teammates a meaningful wink. The two immediately understood what he wanted to say, and stopped their questioning right before it came out of their mouths.

"Still," Sakura said, "I can't believe they still let Neji win. That last move was low. Hinata didn't even have the intention to fight him any more!"

Kakashi shook his head. "Sakura, I understand what you want to say, but Neji was still the winner. He didn't break any rule; what he did was just what normal shinobi would do: exploiting the enemy's weakness to win. That's the thing you'll always see in the shinobi world."

Naruto couldn't hold his anger. "So Hinata-chan deserves to be like that?"

Kakashi didn't lose his calmness. He looked into Naruto's eyes and answered him with a serious tone. "I didn't say that, and you will never hear me saying that, Naruto. It is just a warning for you, and I mean all of you: you can be as high-minded as you like, but your enemies will not. On the battlefield, they will do anything they can to kill you at all cost. So if you naively believe that your enemy will stop fighting after you spare his life, he will stab you in the back right after you turn around."

Before anyone could respond to this ominous pronouncement, the screen had already flashed again, revealing the name of the next fighters.

* * *

><p><strong>Haku Momochi vs. Choji Akimichi<strong>

"Expansion Jutsu! Human Bullet Tank!"

Choji puffed himself up, retracted into his body, and rolled towards Haku like a boulder. His moving speed was quite fast.

Haku sidestepped his attack, then made quick hand signs. Immediately, the ground was frozen, as if the arena had become an iceskating field. Coincidentally, that also boosted the speed of the human boulder on the field further, making it even more deadly.

"I don't get it sensei," Chojuro asked, confused. "Why does Haku-san decide to empower her opponent like that? Doesn't increasing the speed of that jutsu make it even more dangerous?"

"Well, actually," Zabuza chuckled, "everything has its strength and weakness. This jutsu of the Akimichi boy has power and speed, I admit, but I think the problem with it is…"

The human tank rampaged towards Haku again in the speed of a cannonball. Haku frantically scrambled away from the way of the rampaging ball of meat right before it flattened her. The ball spun around, turning to chase after the girl…

…and flew across the room, slamming into the opposite wall, drilling a rather big hole on it while still spinning.

"…he cannot brake and turn while rolling on slippery surfaces. Yeah, like that," Zabuza finished.

Immediately, ice started creeping up the huge body, covering it in a cage of frozen water.

Five minutes later, Choji was released from his icicle prison. He collapsed on the ground, shrunk back to normal size, and shivered nonstop on the ground. His face was pale due to the cold, and his eyes had become two anime swirls.

"C-c-c-cold… B-b-b-b-barbecue…"

"Even during battle, the only thing he's ever thought about is barbecue…" Asuma sighed. "Well, I'd better just go and prepare the money first…"

"Winner, Haku Momochi!"

* * *

><p><strong>Temari vs. Shino Aburame<strong>

The two combatants stood facing each other in the arena, their eyes meeting… Well, only Temari's met Shino's, considering he's wearing a really thick and dark pair of sunglasses.

Finally, Shino decided to start his own assault with a wave of bugs towards Temari. Temari answered by swinging her fan, sending a tornado back at the Aburame boy. All the bugs Shino sent out were eradicated. Not blown away though; they were all cut to shred by the sharpened chakra of the Wind Scythe Jutsu.

"I've known all about you Aburame," the Sand kunoichi said in a haughty voice. "You fight using the colony of bugs implanted into your body since birth. You can use a variety of jutsu with them, such as draining your opponent's chakra, or poisoning them. So if I want to defeat you, I just need to keep those bugs away from me!"

Then she swung her fan again at her back, destroying the hidden wave of bugs Shino sent silently to ambush her from behind.

"Well, that's that. How much longer will you be able to keep up with me, Aburame?"

Shino grimaced under his collar. Half of his hive was destroyed in the two first attacks without any result. And if he continued to send out bugs, the Sunagakure kunoichi would just destroy them with her fan and wind jutsu. It's not like he could send them out without being seen again anyway; that girl had been tracking down all his movement after the first attack.

"I forfeit. It's not worth risking the lives of my entire hive for this."

Kiba blinked. "That's it? He just gives up like that? That is not even fighting!"

Kurenai shook her head. "Well, that girl is, like, his natural enemy. Shino has nothing in his arsenal against something like that. And he is the one who uses his head in battle… not rushing into it head first like you, Kiba."

The Inuzuka scowled unhappily.

"Winner, Temari!"

* * *

><p><strong>Kankuro vs. Tenten<strong>

"Twin Rising Dragon!"

The six arms of Karasu, Kankuro's puppet, turned into six large shields, blocking the barrage of weapons from skewering the Sand puppeteer.

"Hah! Now you're out of weapon! You lost now!" Kankuro smirked when the weapon tornado had finally died down.

But he didn't notice the evil glint in Tenten's eyes.

With a quick movement, she lifted her arms and pulled hard. Ninja wires suddenly surrounded Kankuro in a steel labyrinth, tying the puppeteer up like a rat.

Worse, the weapons from before were now aiming straight at him from all directions. Including scythes, axes, and even _huge bombs. _

Where the hell did those last things come from, though?

"So Kankuro-san…" This time, the smirk was on the weapon mistress's face, "do you have enough shields?"

Kankuro wisely forfeited before those weapons turned him into a steel porcupine, or a mess of flesh and bones.

* * *

><p>"Naruto, you're not gonna like this."<p>

Naruto raised an eyebrow. Sasuke's worried? Now that's new. "What's wrong Sasuke?"

To answer him, the Uchiha pointed at the screen. Naruto followed his finger, and his blood froze.

**Karin Uzumaki vs. Gaara. **That's what the screen said.

"Uzumaki? So she's like, you know, your sibling or something like that, right?" Sakura asked, but Naruto didn't answer. Or rather, he couldn't answer with the feeling of something big and hard stuck inside his throat.

So that girl really is an Uzumaki. Just like him, Nagato… and his mother. That means… she is family. A true family. The family Naruto has never had in his life. Naruto's heart wanted to jump out of his chest when he thought about this. He can finally have a real family!

But the problem is… she was going to face Gaara. And not Gaara the Fifth Kazekage, but Gaara the crazy jinchuriki, mass murderer, terror of Sunagakure, etc etc.

What is he gonna do…? Tell jiji to stop the match…?

'_**Don't be a fool, Naruto. Doing that is no different from exposing yourself for the whole world to know.'**_

'_Then what should I do? The last time, Gaara nearly destroyed Lee's shinobi career! What if…' _A disturbing thought passed Naruto's brain._ 'What if this time there is no one saving her?!' _

'_**Then you go and save her, duh,' **_Goku said as if it was a fact. _**'That was the best way to get another girl into your harem! The 'big sis' route is always the hottest route… Uh… wha… Hey, what's with the claws and tentacles… Gyaaaaah! Naruto, heeelllppp!"**_

Naruto sighed mentally. _'Girls, thank you for shutting the pervert up.'_

'_**You're welcome, Naru-kun!'**_

'_**Traitoooorrrrrr!'**_

'_**Don't worry Naruto,' **_Gyuuki said. _**'If things start going wrong, we'll always be here to help you. For now, just calm down and focus on the match.'**_

'_Yeah…'_

Despite saying so, a vague fear was still lingering inside Naruto's stomach. What will happen if he fails…?

* * *

><p>Karin was trembling.<p>

To tell the truth, she hadn't got the intention to take part in this exam. This team she had right now… well, people might call it a team, but to tell the truth, she hated it. She was basically forced into it by Orochimaru. For what reason? She couldn't even know.

And then the blond brat of Konohagakure was called "Uzumaki" by the scarred proctor of the first task. Thinking about this made Karin boiled with anger.

Karin didn't have many things to be proud of. She had lost everything since she was a child, and she couldn't remember much about them. One of the only things she still remembered and put all her pride on was her status as a member of the famous Uzumaki clan. Because of that, she was taken in by Orochimaru when she was just a little girl.

The Snake Sannin had seen what nobody else saw in her. He saw usefulness. He saw potential. He saw value. He saw her as things different from a breeding mare, a healing tank. And it's all thanks to her heritage that she got all those treatments.

And now that blonde bastard popped out from nowhere saying that he's an Uzumaki. The nerve of him! He doesn't even have the red hair!

Because of that, she pushed herself through the exam, even though she hadn't wanted to participate in the first place. She wanted to show that bastard who dared to spoil the name of the Uzumaki clan that, even though the clan had perished, no one would be able to mess with them!

Everything was good until this happened.

Karin does not scare of fighting. The truth is, she is quite a competent fighter. She can hold her own against enemies for quite some times without injuries, thanks to her potent healing chakra. Her Kagura Shingan is perfect for detecting any kind of hidden adversaries. And she has some good jutsu in her arsenal, too.

She just didn't expect to run into the kind of enemy she was facing right now.

She didn't even need the Kagura Shingan to know how dangerous the boy in front of her was. Despite his calm demeanor, she could feel power pouring out from his body. It's powerful; it's cold; it's… mad. Even looking at him made her hands sweating. And though it was fainted, there was an odor of blood lingering around him. Having been working for Orochimaru for a long time, Karin was too familiar with that smell.

Karin gulped. Thoughts of raising her hand and forfeit had crossed her mind.

Then she caught a glimpse of the blonde boy who claimed to be an Uzumaki, and rage exploded again in her chest like a volcano.

He was looking at her with an eye full of pity and worriness.

How dare he! How dare he show pity on her, a _real _Uzumaki, while going around parading the Uzumaki name like a third-rate good!

That's it. No running away. She'll show that bastard what a real Uzumaki can do.

"BEGIN!"

Karin immediately pulled out a kunai from her pouch and threw it at Gaara. Then, she withdrew her hands and went through hand signs.

"Kunai Shadow Clone!"

The lone knife became twenty, and all of them soared across the room, aiming at the Sand genin. A wall of sand immediately rose in front of him, preventing the kunai from reaching Gaara's body.

Then all the knives exploded at the same time. The original kunai had explosive tags stuck on it.

"Whoa, what the hell?" Kiba exclaimed when the shockwave from the explosion reached his face, making his unkempt hair flying wildly. "This is just overkill!"

"Why do all those with the name Uzumaki like going around blowing stuff up like that?!" Sakura also groaned.

"Hmph," Temari snorted with a smirk. "You think that kind of attack would be able to harm Gaara? Think again."

It's true; when the smoke of the explosion cleared, Gaara was still standing there unharmed. A thick wall of sand was in front of him, shielding him from all the damage which would have killed him if they hit.

"This match is decided. There is no way that girl would land a hit on Gaara. His absolute defense has never been broken."

"Is that all you got?" The ominous voice of Gaara echoed through the air. "Then it's my turn now."

Giant hands made of sand burst out from the ground, all shooting towards Karin like torpedoes launching from a submarine. Screw sand crushing power; those hands would have been able to smash her to a pulp, or at least break half the bones inside her body with their sheer force and weight if they had hit!

Luckily for Karin, although her Kagura Shingan cannot see things in slow motion like the Sharingan, or pierce through the skin to see inside the body like the Byakugan, it shows her clearly where chakra exists. And all the sand on the ground was infused with Gaara's chakra.

Because of that, she was able to make the smart choice and retreated as quickly as she could to the other end of the room, on the finger of the shinobi statue, away from the range of the sand appendages before they could crush her.

Karin knew she was screwed. Sure, she managed to avoid those deadly attacks, but she knew for sure that she was overpowered. The chakra in the sand was so strong it couldn't be of a normal genin. No, it couldn't even be of a **human. **

Orochimaru didn't tell her that there would be this kind of genin in this exam. What did she get herself into…?

Her instinct screamed at her to forfeit the match. And she had already been raising her hand.

Yet, something in her mind stopped her from opening her mouth.

Yeah, damn that stupid pride about clan. She's just as bad as a certain Uchiha of a few months ago.

This last attempt would probably exhaust her, but if she could execute it perfectly…

_It's alright. I have enough chakra to maneuver through this… I can defeat him…_

She reached into her pouch, and pulled out two round things the size of big oranges.

Then, much to everyone's surprise, Karin charged headfirst at Gaara.

"Fool…"

Waves of sand rushed towards her once again. But this time Karin had prepared.

"Shadow Clone Jutsu!"

One clone popped into existence, and the real Karin stepped on her back then, with a chakra-boosted jump, leapt into the air before the sand wave swept through and obliterated it.

"Hey Naruto, she fights just like you!"

Karin had wanted to turn to throw a fit at the one who had just said that, but this was not the time. Sticking on the ceiling of the arena, she pulled out five other explosive kunai from her pouch and threw them all at Gaara. And just like before, the jinchuriki's sand blocked the explosion easily as if it was child's toy.

"That girl is a fool," Temari said. "Struggling like that only makes Gaara madder. She should have forfeited when she had a chance."

"Mother is craving for blood…" From under the cloud of smoke, the voice of Gaara rose ominously. "You will become the sacrifice for my existence!"

Everyone gasped when tendrils of sand blasted out from Gaara's place and skewered the redhead in a blink of an eye.

"No…" Naruto muttered in horror.

Then the body burst into water, soaking Gaara's sand to the core.

"I see," the cyclops jonin in the balcony nodded in amusement. "Sand cannot move when soaked with water. A clever use of the water clone, I admit. That girl is good."

"You mean… those bottles she pulled out before… they're _water bottles?_"

"Yup. Canteens engraved with seals to increase their capacity are common things to shinobi… but to have enough water to form a water clone of that scale in such a small container is an incredible feat."

From behind Gaara, the real Karin appeared and closed their distance quickly, a whole pack of exploding tags ready on her hand. Gaara's sand was still wet on the floor; they couldn't rise fast enough to block the advancing girl who was now very close to the Sand shinobi.

For the first time since the match started, Gaara's eyes widened.

"Everyone take cover!"

BOOOOOOOOOM!

A direct hit. An explosion much, much more powerful than the ones before shook the whole arena.

Karin was thrown away like a ragdoll by the recoil. Her body slammed hard onto the ground, full of burning marks, and she felt a piercing pain on her right arm. It seemed the impact had broken it.

But no matter… That last blow was a decisive hit. Her body could be mended easily with a bite, but there was no way her opponent could survive that point-blank explosion.

Then suddenly, her head jerked up in surprise and fear.

The incredible chakra signal of her enemy didn't fade away. Rather, it was becoming even more powerful…!

When the smoke cleared enough for her to see Gaara, her fear was multiplied tenfold.

Her enemy was still standing. Her life-risking maneuver didn't even manage to hurt him. The only thing showing some kind of damage on him was his skin, which was now falling off his body… his arms, his legs, his **face**.

Which was now donning a completely crazy expression.

"No way… sand… skin…?"

Karin knew everything was over for her. That last maneuver took away everything she had; she was now out of both weapon and chakra. And her body was injured. She was completely outmatched. There was no way she could continue the match any further…

"I forf… Gah!?"

Karin couldn't even finish her sentence. Hell, she couldn't even _breathe _properly any more. Sand had already crept up her body, locking her inside like a cage, and was now squeezing around her windpipe.

"Ah… ah…"

The last bits of oxygen were leaving her lungs. She's such a fool; charging headfirst into this hopeless battle without thinking of the consequences. Now she was going to die… crushed, by the mad boy and his sand…

"Stop right there Gaara of the Sand! If you don't, you will be disqualified immediately!"

She heard the voice of the proctor, but it was no use; the sand coffin around her was squeezing even harder, and she could feel her consciousness slipping away together with the pain in her body. That was it; she was definitely leaving the living world, and now she was on her way to hell… or heaven…

Then she had a very vague feeling of the sand releasing her. But it was too late; everything around her had gone dark.

* * *

><p>Everyone was stunned beyond belief.<p>

Not only because a girl like Karin had managed to hold her own against someone like Gaara for quite some time. Also not only because Gaara was a mindless murderer who was more than ready to squish a girl, a twelve-year-old girl, shinobi or not, to mush.

It was also because Naruto had sent Gaara flying with a punch.

"What the hell is that?" Kankuro muttered in shock. "He punched Gaara! Through the sand shield, no less!"

"Screw that!" Temari also mumbled, but with a frightened tone. "Gaara was denied a kill! He is going to go crazy now!"

Right as she said, Gaara stumbled up from the ground. The terrifying chakra of Shukaku was pouring out of his body like a waterfall, together with the massive killing intent which was making every genin in the room shudder and gasp for air.

"Uzumaki…" he growled in a dangerous tone.

To answer, Naruto flared up his own chakra. His chakra, strong as it originally was, was build up even further during his training, and now rivaled the Hokage himself at least. The two powerful waves of chakra clashed against each other, unconsciously heating the air in the room up to near dangerous level.

"That's enough, the two of you!"

Naruto almost jumped when the calm, yet stern voice of the Third Hokage rose up right next to him. He had been at the two genin's side since who knew when, and his eyes were now locking at their faces with a sharp glare.

"I declare this match over, and the winner is Gaara," the old man said briefly. "Now stop that killing intent and go back to the balcony."

The voice of the Hokage was not loud, but it contained such a powerful authority that even Gaara had to stop. The Sand jinchuriki recalled his sand back into the gourd and walked back to his team's place without another word, but not before throwing Naruto a deadly glare. Naruto refused to drop his gaze, but met the glare with his own until Gaara looked away.

"Ahem, anyway," Hayate cleared his throat to get everyone's attention, "due to the odd number of competitors here, the last match of the preliminary will be a battle royale between the three remaining competitors. So will Kiba Inuzuka of Konohagakure, Chojuro of Kirigakure and Naruto Uzumaki of Konohagakure come down here?"

Naruto blinked dumbly. "What is a battle royale?"

Hayate sighed. "Just think of it as a free-for-all fight between more than 2 fighters. Now that all of you are here," he added when seeing Kiba and Chojuro jumping down from the balcony, "can we start the match now?"

"You bet," Naruto answered with a grin.

"Same here," Kiba also smirked. Chojuro didn't say anything, only nodded timidly.

"Then, the final match of the preliminary, **Kiba Inuzuka vs. Naruto Uzumaki vs. Chojuro**… BEGIN!"

* * *

><p>Kiba glanced at Naruto warily.<p>

Since the mission to Waves, he had seen Naruto with another eye. The blond was no longer the goofy deadlast of the class who knew only silly pranks. Right now, he might be the most dangerous genin in this room… not considering that Gaara guy.

He pulled out a soldier pill. He must finish him first, and fast.

"Akamaru! Get ready! Man Beast Transfor…"

"Hiramekarei Release! Gigant Form!"

"Whaa… oh, crap."

A gigantichammer made of chakra was swung down mercilessly on the two Konoha genin's heads.

And by gigantic, I mean **GIGANTIC. **In bold. And caps. Had it not been for the fact that construct made solely from chakra couldn't create shadows, its head would have covered the whole arena in darkness.

There's absolutely no way to dodge this. Not in this closed arena.

"Earth Style: Concrete Barricade!"

Naruto's voice suddenly boomed. From the ground, walls made of a very hard substance erected and formed seven layers of dome around him, Kiba and Akamaru. The layered barriers managed to surround the two boys and dog completely right before the mighty hammer descended down their heads. And the weapon collided with the dome instead.

The first, second, third and fourth layers of the dome were shattered as if they're made of tissue paper. The fifth and six ones managed to slow down the bludgeon weapon, but the hammer still smashed through them before stopping at the final layer, where the chakra forming it finally dissipated.

Well, not before making that very same layer crumble to debris, though.

"Whaaa… what the hell… is that…? Is he… trying to kill us…?" Kiba stuttered; his eyes were as wide as two small dishes.

"He broke through my strongest defense jutsu so easily…" Naruto also grimaced.

Then, much to the two Konoha genin's surprise, Chojuro fell over.

"Still not enough chakra…" the glassed boy mumbled, and fainted.

On the balcony, Zabuza smashed his head on the rail.

"Phew…" Kiba wiped his forehead. "That was close."

"Yeah. Sweet dream, Kiba!"

"Huh, wha…"

Kiba couldn't even manage to blurt out the whole sentence before Naruto sucker punched him in the face.

Kurenai's palm met her face. "How many times have I told him not to let his guard down in front of his opponent..?"

"Winner, Naruto Uzumaki!"

Akamaru whined.

* * *

><p>"First of all, I would like to congratulate all the genin standing here right now for advancing to the third task, also the final round, and the main event of the Chuunin Exam."<p>

The voice of the Third Hokage echoed across the room, loud and firm.

"I can see some of you had quite easy matches during the preliminary. Some of you, on the other hand, had some troubles with your opponents. But you all managed to defeat yours, and gained the right to compete in the final round."

Sarutobi's eyes lingered a little bit at Sasuke and Gaara's faces, then he continued.

"However, it will not be that easy any more. Coming to this round, you are all considered the elite of your villages. Each of you will fight to represent the power of your countries, and you will need to show off all your power without reserves. Therefore, there will be no easy matches for you in the third event of the Exam. And because of that, the third event will be held precisely one month later. It is for you to revitalize your bodies and minds, and analyze the datas you collected about your opponents to calculate your chance of winning, as well as to improve your abilities."

"Wait a sec," Sasuke raised his hand. "Considering what you just said, could it be that the third event is also a tournament?"

The Hokage chuckled. "Very perceptive, Sasuke. True, the final round is also a tournament. The final tournament will be held in the main stadium of Konohagakure, in the middle of the village, under the audience of all citizens in the village, the Daimyos, and the other village leaders."

"Uh…" Now it's Shikamaru's turn to raise his hand. "But since it's a tournament, it would mean there's only one winner, right? Does that mean there will only be one person who becomes chuunin?"

"That's not it," Sarutobi shook his head. "Your battles will be observed by the judges including me, the Daimyos and the other village leaders. Those judges will be the ones who decide if you can become a chuunin or not. Therefore, even if you lose your first match, you will still have a chance to become chuunin."

"Now, before dismiss, there is something that has to be done," Anko stepped up from behind the Hokage. "Each of you will take a piece of paper from inside the box I'm holding here. Then, read the number inside of the paper out loud for everyone to hear."

"Match arrangement, right?" Sakura asked. Anko grinned.

"As expected of my apprentice. So, start from you, Cherry!"

Sakura pulled out a piece of paper. "Three,"

"Seven," Naruto said his number after pulling it out from the box.

"Two," It was Sasuke.

"One," Haku.

"Five," Temari.

"Four," Neji.

"I got Nine!" Lee.

"Ten," Tenten (huh?).

"Eight," Gaara.

"Six… so troublesome…" Shikamaru.

"Done!" Anko said happily, throwing the box away. "So these will be the matches in the final round!"

**Haku Momochi vs. Sasuke Uchiha**

**Sakura Haruno vs. Neji Hyuuga**

**Temari vs. Shikamaru Nara**

**Naruto Uzumaki vs. Gaara**

**Rock Lee vs. Tenten**

"So, our chance for a rematch is here," Sasuke glanced at Haku. "This time it will not be like the last time."

"I'm waiting for that day," Haku gave him a mock smile and curtsied.

"YOSH! Tenten-san, let's give everyone a match full of youth!" Lee howled dramatically.

"I'd rather not…" Tenten sighed.

"Great, my opponent is another violent woman… This is so troublesome…" Shikamaru groaned, and a vein popped on Temari's forehead.

"What do you mean you lazy idiot?!"

"Well, if that's all, then you're okay to dismiss!" Anko called out cheerfully, then popped away in a Body Flicker. All the other jonin and ANBU also disappeared. When everyone started walking out of the arena, Sakura gritted her teeth.

_That Neji! He didn't even bother to look at my face! Who does he think he is?!_

The pinkette suddenly cringed when she felt a hand patting her shoulder. She turned back, and saw Naruto looking at her. His eyes were full of warmth and encouragement. But at the same time, those sapphire orbs were also filled with seriousness.

"Don't worry Sakura," he whispered. "If this was three months ago I wouldn't be sure, but now I'm confident that you can defeat Neji for sure! Don't worry; you can beat him up in the final round!"

Those words didn't get past Neji's ears. The Hyuuga boy turned back and sneered at Naruto.

"Hey loser, if you want to be a powerful shinobi, what you have to do is stop those meaningless cheering. Putting hopes into the head of someone without any chance will only bring them closer to their death."

"You…"

"Just let him be, Sakura," This time, it was Sasuke who spoke up. His voice had a tint of amusement. "Even if you lose, it's okay. I'll have a chance to show him what kind of pathetic genius he is when he falls under my hand."

Neji narrowed his eyes, but then he turned away and walked out.

"So… how are we going to get out of this forest?"

* * *

><p>Karin opened her eyes groggily.<p>

"Ow… my head…"

She was lying on a bed in a white room. This must be the hospital. She couldn't know how long she had been here; maybe a few hours, or one day, two days; who knows? The only thing she could remember was that she was being squeezed by the sand of the Suna boy.

She winced. That experience was something she never wanted to "enjoy" another time. That boy… whatever he was… couldn't be… impossible to be… human. He **enjoyed **killing. That kind of bloodlust… She had only seen that kind of bloodlust in one person only before. And that person was _Orochimaru._

And everyone knows what kind of inhumane creature Orochimaru is. Yeah, even Karin.

Her ribs throbbed with pain again. "Ugh…"

"Hello, Karin-chan!"

Karin almost jumped from her bed when the face of a blond with sapphire eyes hovered right in front of hers.

"Whawhawhawhawha… Pervert!"

SLAP!

"Ow! What the hell? Is that what you will do to pay back the one who saved your life?" Naruto stumbled back and yelled, his hand rubbing the hand-shaped red print on his cheek. Karin's eyes widened.

"You! You're the fake bastard who goes around calling himself an Uzumaki!"

"What?!" Naruto barked in outrage. "How dare you! I'm as Uzumaki as you are!"

"BULLSHIT! WHAT KIND OF UZUMAKI HAS BLONDE HAIR?!" Karin grabbed Naruto's shirt and also screamed, even louder than Naruto.

"WELL, SORRY FOR ONLY HAVING MY MOTHER AS AN UZUMAKI!"

"WHY YOU…!"

"IF THE TWO OF YOU CONTINUE SCREAMING LIKE TWO BANSHEES, I'LL THROW BOTH OF YOU OUT OF THE HOSPITAL IMMEDIATELY, GET IT!?" someone from outside screamed into the room. Karin released Naruto, but still glared at him with a scary look.

"I won't believe it," Finally, the redhead glowered. "There is no way you are an Uzumaki. Even if it's only your mother, the only Uzumaki staying in Konohagakure during the last 20 years is Kushina-sama, and she was dead twelve years ago!"

Naruto's eyes hardened, and he turned away.

"I never said my parents were alive."

Karin unconsciously clapped her hands over her mouth. If that's the truth, and the blond's parents were both dead…

"Wait… So your mother is Kushina-sama? The Red Hot-Blooded Habanero? The one who's said to have wrecked havoc together with the Fourth Hokage during the Third Shinobi World War?" Karin's eyes bulged out in realization. "No way. How can someone as famous as her be the mother of an idiot like you? You're definitely lying!"

"Hey! Why do you keep saying that I am an idiot? And I'm not lying!" Naruto protested.

Suddenly, another voice rose from the room's entrance. "You might not believe it, but it is the truth. And I'd rather you keep it to yourself, because it is a high leveled secret of Konohagakure."

Naruto snapped his head towards the entrance, and sighed in relief when he saw Jiraiya leaning at the door frame.

"Knew that I can find you here, Naruto," the Toad Sage grinned.

Karin sat there, dumbfounded. This man was Jiraiya of the Sannin, one of the most powerful and famous shinobi in the whole Elemental Continent. If he was the one who confirmed this, then maybe the blond didn't lie at all… But…

"But now, family matters aside," Suddenly, Jiraiya appeared right in front of Karin, so fast she couldn't even blink, "I want to ask you a question. Are you working for Orochimaru?"

Karin's body cringed up slightly. How could the man in front of her know about that?

"I don't know what you're talking about," she lied coldly, diverting her gaze from the Sage.

But Jiraiya wasn't someone who was easy to trick.

"Don't lie to me, little kunoichi. I've worked with Orochimaru for a long time; I can sense his presence on your body, even when he's not here. Your body reeks of his chakra and his smell. Besides, you think I don't know Kusagakure is Orochimaru's in anything but name? Konohagakure's spy network is not something you can underestimate!"

Sweat started to roll down Karin's forehead. If Konohagakure had figured it out…

"Considering your reaction, I can assume that we're right. Usually, this isn't my job," Jiraiya continued in a dangerous tone, "but because you are a relative of Naruto, I'm giving you another chance. What is your connection with Orochimaru? Spill it out, or a long-term trip to the T&I Division will be your present."

Karin nearly choked when she felt the massive killing intent from Jiraiya.

"Pervy Sage, please!" said Naruto in a scared and concerned voice. "Let me talk to her first!"

The killing intent withdrew, but Jiraiya was still glaring at the redhead.

"Karin-chan," Naruto turned back to the girl. "Orochimaru is a dangerous person. If we don't stop him, there will be a lot of innocent people who will be dead because of him. Can you please…"

"Please what?" Karin cut him short with a sneer. "Even if what you said is true, are you expecting me to betray him like that? You're too naïve, thinking that those petty talks can convince me to sell him out. I bet all those Uzumaki things were also fabricated by you to trick me! Just throw me to your T&I, or whatever you call it! You're not scaring me!"

If she's not a girl, the author would say that she got **balls**.

"You…"

"I can't understand Karin-chan," Naruto cut in again. "Why are you so loyal to that Orochimaru guy? He is so evil! He tried to steal my teammate's body when we're in the Forest of Death! Why do you love someone so inhumane that much?"

"Hmph!" Karin snorted and turned away. "Why should I tell you?"

"Could it be… you were somehow rescued by him before?"

Karin's neck froze on its way. How could that boy know?

Naruto grimaced. It was true. Karin was just like Haku before the battle at the bridge.

"Karin-chan, one of my best friends has the same past as you. But she's luckier than you. The man who saved her is definitely not a very good guy, but he still knows what it means to care for people close to him. Did Orochimaru ever do that to you? I don't think so. Even only meeting him once, I can say that. Someone who only wants others for their bodies cannot understand anything about friendship, families or love."

Karin wanted to retort, but she realized that she couldn't.

What the blond boy said was true. Orochimaru said that she was useful, but never before had he shown anything that she was anything more than a tool that could be thrown away easily when her usefulness was exhausted.

She had thought that it was okay, as long as she could serve him with everything she had. But now…

Orochimaru had lied to her when he said that the Uzumaki clan was extinct. Worse, he didn't even tell her that the exam had these kinds of insane genin. Surely he would have known it; his plan with Sunagakure and Kusagakure…

Isn't that the proof that Orochimaru didn't consider her anything that might be important to him? And it didn't matter if she was dead or not?

"Oh, and about whether Naruto here is an Uzumaki or not, I took a sample of your hair and conducted a DNA analysis when you were asleep, and this is the result."

Jiraiya pulled out a sheet of paper and gave it to the redhead. She took it without any question, and her eyes widened when she saw the result.

"This… this is…"

"That's right. You two are not only of the same clan, but very close relatives also. It's not exaggeration to say that you two are family."

Even Naruto was dumbfounded before this new piece of information.

"Is… is that true? Karin-chan… is really my family…?"

Karin's head felt like spinning. She had a family? Could it really? Everything in this was too good to be true… But the proof was still there, right in front of her…

"That's awesome!" Naruto suddenly exclaimed, his face brightened. "That means you can come to Konoha and live with me, Karin-chan! We can finally have the family we've never had before!"

"Karin," said Jiraiya calmly. "It might be true that Orochimaru is the one who saved you and gave you a home to live all those years, but that doesn't mean he is a good person. I was his teammate during the time he was in Konoha; I know what he is. He does not care for anyone except himself, and will do anything, even stepping over his closest people as if they're insects, to achieve what he wants. If you really are working for Orochimaru, you must have understood what kind of things he does to his own subordinates. He is evil, a monster in fact. If you stay with him, not only you're helping him harming more innocent people, but he will also throw you away when you outlives your usefulness to him. Do you really want to live with someone like that forever?"

Karin couldn't find any word to retort.

"If you agree to help us, Konohagakure can also help you," Jiraiya continued. "We can offer you complete safety within the village, and you can even join our shinobi force if you want, after a probation period. And…" the white haired man lowered his voice, "we can also give you a family, a _real _family. What do you think?"

Finally, when she managed to open her mouth, she said.

"I… I need time to think about it. Please leave me alone."

"Karin-chan…"

"Please!" She snapped, and Naruto flinched, knowing there wasn't anything else he could do for now. Jiraiya grabbed his shoulder, and the two males stood up and walked out of the room.

"Please think of it clearly, okay Karin-chan?" Before disappearing behind the door, the blond boy still turned back and pleaded.

When the pair was gone, Karin silently activated her Kagura Shingan. She had expected guards outside of the room, but to her surprises, there was no one out there. She could have run away any time…

But instead of doing that, for some reasons, she flopped back to the bed, and stared at the ceiling.

The two had struck her weakest point. It was true that, even in Orochimaru's care, Karin was not evil at heart. The greatest wish of her was a real family, a family with people like her, not with those monstrosities Orochimaru called his subordinates.

The two hadn't left any guard outside the room… That meant they trusted her.

But… can she just throw everything away and betray Orochimaru, the one who used to save her life, like that?

_What should I do…?_

* * *

><p>"Hyaaaaaaa!"<p>

Sakura's fist struck the training post with a force so great the post shook ominously, and a bit of wood dust flew from the point where she hit.

She stumbled back, panting heavily. Although her stamina and muscle power had taken a huge leap comparing to what she'd had a few months ago, it still couldn't even compare to Naruto's ridiculous stamina, or at least Sasuke-kun's.

"Don't force yourself too hard, Sakura. Take a rest first."

Sakura turned back, and saw Kakashi walking towards her, with Anko next to him, grinning towards her.

"Sensei…" she breathed out and slumped on the ground. "I thought you're training Sasuke-kun?"

"Well, he's done for today. Besides, Sasuke isn't my only student, right? I told you I would train all of you for the final match separately after all," Kakashi answered her with an eyesmile.

Sakura sighed.

"Sensei… I don't think I can do it. No matter how much I try, I… I cannot. Before, I thought I would give him a lesson in our fight, but the more I think of it, the more impossible it seems to be to me. I'm just a girl from a normal civilian family, and he is a genius of the famous Hyuuga clan, with a kekkei genkai no less!"

"Don't worry Sakura," Kakashi rubbed the pinkette's hair. "There's still a lot of time to train; you can do it!"

"You don't understand!" snapped Sakura. "Didn't you see what happened to Hinata when she tried to fight him? She was nearly killed! And not only him… That… that Gaara boy also…"

Tears welled out of Sakura's eyes. "I'm scared sensei… I don't want to die…"

"Oi, Sakura."

"Huh?"

The next thing Sakura knew was that she was sprawling on the ground, courtesy of a punch from Anko.

"You idiot! I didn't teach you to be a coward! What is the meaning of all those training I gave you if you just insist on running away like that?"

"But… but…"

Anko didn't let her finished. "Only in life and death situation can people grow up. If you're that scared of dying, then go on, quit being a kunoichi and go back home, being a pathetic spoiled brat who will faint right in front of your enemy and become even easier to kill, like you were before! This is the world of shinobi; not of pathetic romance dramas where boys come out of nowhere to rescue you! At least if you face death by yourself, you might have a better chance of surviving!"

"That's too hard for her, Anko," Kakashi scolded the Tokubetsu Jonin. Then he crouched down to Sakura.

"Sakura, it's normal for a person to be scared of things. But if you're scared, and you run away from it, you will run away from it forever. You're not scared of fighting; the only thing you're afraid about is yourself. You're afraid that your ability is nothing comparing to them, that you are just a normal civilian girl when they're geniuses, am I right?"

When Sakura nodded dumbly, he continued. "Don't believe what that Neji said, Sakura. There is no rule saying that people cannot change themselves. Looking at Gai right now, have you ever thought that he used to be a loser who could not even use any technique, except a little taijutsu?"

Sakura's eyes widened when she heard this little piece of information.

"R… really? Even Gai-sensei…"

"Yup," Kakashi eyesmiled. "The fact that he's training a prodigy like Neji can be considered one of the greatest ironies in history. But that's for you to remember: even the most incompetent failure can some day become powerful if they put their heart and soul into their efforts."

Sakura's mind lingered back to a certain blond, whiskered genin in her team.

"Besides," Kakashi added and stood back up, "that is the reason why I and Anko are here, right? We're going to turn you into a force that no one will be able to underestimate!"

Sakura smiled and wiped her tears away.

"Thank you, Kakashi-sensei, Anko-sensei!"

* * *

><p>"What do you mean Kabuto escaped from the prison?"<p>

"I'm sorry, Ibiki-san! But all the ANBU members assigned to guard his prison cell had already been murdered brutally when we arrived. Furthermore, the entrance of the cell looks like it was smashed apart from the outside. It's like someone broke in and rescued him, not that he broke out of the cell by himself."

"Damn it," Ibiki gritted his teeth. "This is not gonna be good…"

* * *

><p>Two figures, one male, one female, was walking on the trail leading to Konohagakure's great gate.<p>

"Ah… finally. I've been longing to try the famous hot spring of Konohagakure…"

"My Lady! We're not here to play!"

"Yeah yeah… Mou, you're just like an old geezer."

The two guards, Izumo and Kotetsu, spotted the advancing newcomers from afar. As the gate guarding specialists they were, they quickly pulled out their weapons and blocked the way of the two.

"Halt! State your purpose and business!"

The man of the two immediately jumped in front of the woman. Veins bulged up at the side of his eyepatch, and…

"Izumo, Kotetsu, stop! They are our special guests, and you will let them through."

The two "eternal Chuunin" turned back and bowed hastily.

"Lord Hokage!"

Hiruzen Sarutobi walked out from the gate, and smiled.

"Welcome to Konohagakure, Lady Mizukage."

* * *

><p>In the forest at the outskirt of Konoha…<p>

"Thank you for the timely rescue, Orochimaru-sama."

Orochimaru hissed out a laugh. "You don't think I will go and rescue you, do you Kabuto?"

"I didn't say that my lord," Kabuto hastily corrected himself. "I just didn't expect Konoha to see through my cover. They're better than I thought."

"You know too much, Kabuto," Orochimaru hissed. "I cannot let you fall into the hand of Konoha; what if they managed to get the details of my plan from you?"

Kabuto's eyes gleamed under his glasses. "So you still don't trust me?"

"And what if I don't, Kabuto?" Orochimaru answered, still with the snake-like tone, but now, there was a hint of amusement in his voice. And killing intent, too. Kabuto gulped.

Suddenly, the feeling of death stopped, and Orochimaru laughed. "Just kidding, my dear boy. Without you, how can I do all those experiments with body modification? And you're a good spy, too. By the way, I have some good news for you. The three sacrifices we prepared were perfect. No sign of adverse reaction, and they're living now, very healthy."

"Y… yeah. That's good…" Kabuto mumbled. "And… it seems Karin was also captured. Do you plan to go rescue her?"

Orochimaru laughed again. "That girl? Despite being an Uzumaki, she doesn't show any good quality except for that healing blood. No chakra chain, no talent in sealing jutsu, no exceptional chakra, nothing. Why should I bother? You're way more important to me than that failure of an Uzumaki."

Then the snake man grabbed Kabuto's shoulder. "Let's go, my boy. We need to do the final preparations. And about Karin..." he added with a sneer, "...if you find a chance, silent her."

* * *

><p>Clothes. Check.<p>

Headband. Check.

Weapon. Check.

'_**I thought you'll have to care about more important things than those trivial, Naruto-kun. You're going to war today, remember?'**_

'_Sure sure, Mata-chan. But there's nothing wrong with making myself a little bit cooler, eh?'_

'_**Still, why do you still need those weapons? You can create them from chakra! And you can create explosions much greater than those explosive notes!'**_

'_Secret exposing, duh!'_

Naruto pulled his gloves – a new creation he had made during the month – up on his hands, then stood up.

"All right. Time to take on the final round, and Orochimaru!"

* * *

><p><strong>And cut!<strong>

**Neji nearly murdered Hinata, and would have succeeded if the jonin didn't manage to come in time. At least this time, our sweet and shy girl really grew a backbone.**

**All the matches of the final round were different. What would the consequences be, and what would Naruto do about it?**

**And how would the invasion change, with the Mizukage here and everything?**

**Poor Karin...**

**Please review!**


	15. Chapter 15: Final Round!

**It's been a long time, isn't it? I'm really sorry for the delay. Got too many things to do during the last two months.**

**But don't worry my wonderful readers, because I have no intention of abandoning this story... at least not now. Although it might takes a little bit more time than the chapters before, I will try my best to make the new chapters worth the wait.**

**For now, please enjoy Chapter 15! And good reviews are appreciated; I really need them to improve my way of writing, as well as perfecting the plot.**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 15: Final Round!<strong>

"Welcome ladies and gentlemen, to the final round of the Chuunin Exam!"

The voice of Hayate Gekko echoed around the stadium.

Yup, he is alive. Poor man didn't even have a chance to show off anything in canon, except for a fancy sword dance.

But meh, maybe he will not have any show time in this story either.

"Hey!"

Fourth wall breaking aside, right now, the ten final combatants were standing in the field, facing all the audiences who were screaming their names, some applausing, others denouncing, in the same deafening volume.

On the highest stand, from between the Mizukage and Kazekage, the Third Hokage stood up and spoke; his voice boomed through the air, overwhelmed even the screaming of the crowd.

"Now, potential genin of all the villages! I, as well as everyone here, want to see from all of you nice, fair fights which show not only your power, but also your intelligence, your abilities to keep the situations under your control and many other things. So fight well, prove that you are true shinobi, not mindless fighting machines whose purpose is only to fight to the death!"

The old man gave Naruto a meaningful look when he said those words.

Applauses rose from the crowd.

'_**You know what? I bet someone out there is seething in anger hearing that speech from the old man,' **_Kurama snickered.

'_I know,' _Naruto smirked inwardly. _'Wonder what that bastard had been doing during the invasion in our time…'_

His hands closed into fists when he thought about Danzo. That man was the person Naruto hated the most, only below Madara. Come to think of it, that bastard was the cause of many bad events that happened in, and before Naruto's life. Nagato going mad and dreaming of creating weapons of mass destruction to bring peace to the world; Shisui being murdered for the Mangekyo Sharingan; Itachi being forced… well, kinda, to massacre his own clan, leading to Sasuke going nuts, abandoning Konoha and trying to murder him, once…

He glanced around. Thanks to Kurama's innate ability, he could feel the air reeking of evil emotions.

'_So it's just like in our time… Orochimaru is really going to invade…'_

The old man had told him not to worry… but what if something went wrong?

'_**Naruto, you should calm down,' **_Goku said in his mind. _**'Worrying too much is not good for you before a great fight.'**_

'_I know… but this is a war we're talking about here! Many people will die! And the old man… what if he cannot stop Orochimaru…?'_

No one said anything in a few seconds. Then, Kurama spoke up.

'_**I think it's time for you to start trusting on other people around you, Naruto. That man, while old, is still very strong. Besides, this time he's not alone. Look at the left side of the stand.'**_

Naruto looked, and was relieved when he saw Jiraiya over there. His eyes were both locking at the Kage booth, and there was no trace of the usual goofy expression on his face.

'_**Just leave it to them. This is a fight they have to finish alone. I believe they already knew what they have to do,' **_the vixen continued. _**'Besides, don't you also have a work you have to do yourself?'**_

'_Oh yeah… Gaara…'_

Naruto glanced at his left. Gaara was standing there, looking impassive as ever, but the killing intent exuding from his body towards him was near visible. He sighed. Yeah, worrying about many things at the same time will not solve anything. Orochimaru is strong, but the old man and Pervy Sage are both very powerful, too. He needs to trust in them.

There is something else, though…

'_So our 'I-won't-trust-human' Kurama has finally opened up enough to believe in others?' _Naruto smirked inwardly.

Creepy silence for a few seconds.

'…_**So, do you want to feel a little bit of my **_**trust**_**, Naruto-**_**kun**_**?'**_

Naruto could feel everyone inside his head inching away from the nine-tailed vixen.

* * *

><p>"Now, with the exclusion of Sasuke Uchiha and Haku Momochi, would the competitors return to the fighter's box above so that we can begin the first match of the day?" Hayate's voice rose again, and all the other combatants jumped back to their box, leaving Sasuke and Haku facing each other on the field.<p>

"Are the two fighters ready? Then, the first match of the final round… BEGIN!"

* * *

><p>"Finally, our rematch. This time I'll not lose to you," Sasuke said with a smirk.<p>

"We'll see about that soon," Haku answered with her own demure smile.

Then, from both sides of the field, projectiles were launched. From Sasuke, they were five shuriken, and from Haku, there were five senbon.

The senbon soared across the air to meet the shuriken on the air… and flew pass them, cutting the nearly invisible ninja wires tied onto the throwing stars. Being pulled back by the force, the shuriken lost their momentum and fell to the ground in front of Haku harmlessly.

"One trick doesn't work twice, Sasuke-san~!" the ice girl sang.

_As I thought, it didn't work… So…_

In a blur, Sasuke was in front of Haku, his left hand on the hilt of his new katana in a reverse grip. With only a quick draw, the blade was already cutting through the air, aiming at Haku's exposing neck which seemed defenseless…

…or so he thought. A sword made of ice, harder than any kind of metal, suddenly appeared out of thin air and blocked the blade, which was imbued with lightning chakra.

But striking her wasn't his intention in the first place.

Their eyes met for an instance. And even a mere instance was enough.

The Sharingan's power is fully unlocked through three steps, corresponding to the three tomoe. The first tomoe grants the user the ability to see the color of chakra, and to see movements of his enemies in slow motion. The second one blesses the user with the power to break genjutsu with his eyes, and to record the motions of everything in sight into his brain. Because of this ability, the Uchiha clan members were infamous for their reputation of being "ninjutsu thieves", due to the fact that they can record the hand seals of their opponents, as well as the movement of chakra in their bodies.

And the last tomoe, the ultimate state of a normal Sharingan, besides boosting all the above powers to the maximum limit, grants the user the ability to cast potent genjutsu with just a glance of his eyes. It is this ability which made the Uchiha the most fearsome force on the battlefield, just because of a simple fact: very few people can fight without looking at the enemies' eyes. Especially in close combat.

From a distance, it is possible to negate the Sharingan's ability of casting genjutsu by looking at his feet. But in such a close range, there's no way Haku could avoid his eyes…

But in less than a second, Sasuke knew something was wrong.

His body suddenly felt numb. He couldn't even move. It's as if he was completely bound by something, but at the same time, there was nothing there.

He was now feeling the effect of his own genjutsu.

_What the…? How…?_

He couldn't move his hand to mold chakra to dispel the genjutsu fast enough. There's only one choice…

He bit hard on his lips, and the pain pulled him out of the genjutsu right in time for him to jump back before a bunch of ice swords pierced through his body from above. But it didn't even stop. Blades after blades followed every step he took, and would have skewered him had he not owned the Sharingan.

"How did you do it?" Sasuke gritted his teeth while swinging his katana to deflect another rain of ice projectiles. "How did you reverse my genjutsu?"

Haku only replied with a mischievous smile. "Why should I tell you?"

"Tch—"

Then he caught a glance of Haku's eyes, and his eyes widened in realization. He didn't look at it clearly before, but in front of her irises, there was something looking like a pair of contacts glimmering like two tiny mirrors. It was them which deflected his genjutsu back to him.

Genjutsu was useless; he must use something else…

His back touched something wet and cold.

"Ice Style: Chilling Prison!"

_Shit!_

Too focus on the barrage of projectiles in front of him, he didn't expect something like a dome of ice forming behind his back. And now, the dome was closing very fast around him; there's no way he could escape quickly enough…!

With a loud click, the ice dome became an iceberg, completely trapping Sasuke inside.

Sasuke tried to struggle. He couldn't. The round iceberg didn't just trap him inside; it also totally restrained his movement.

He was frozen in place... literally.

The Uchiha grimaced. Being frozen like this, very soon there wouldn't be enough oxygen for him to stay alive. Or maybe his body would freeze to death in this icicle prison.

Breaking out of there with fire jutsu was not an option, either. With his arms locked in place like this, he couldn't make hand seals. Besides, having fought Haku before, he knew that her ice couldn't be melted just by normal fire jutsu. Furthermore, if he even managed to do that, there's a very high chance he would charbroil himself too.

The air was starting to become harder to breathe. There's no other choice…

It's time to reveal the fruit of his training…!

"Sir Proctor, it seems Sasuke-san will not get out of there for a long time," Haku turned to Hayate with a smile. "So what do we do now?"

Hayate coughed. "Oh well, if it had come to this… The winner of this match is…"

The proctor's words were cut off abruptly because of the sudden loud rumble coming from the ice block.

"Vibration…"

"What the…?" Haku stammered and took a step back, falling into stance immediately.

"…BREAKEEEEERRRR!"

To Haku's surprise and horror, the iceberg started melting. No, not melting; it was **falling apart.** It's only a few seconds before Sasuke emerged completely from the ice prison, a little pale but still completely healthy.

"How…" This time, it's Haku's turn to grimace. "How did you break my Chilling Prison?"

And just like before, Sasuke replied with a mischievous smile. "Why should I tell you, Haku?"

Somewhere on the stands, snickers rose.

00000

"What is… mmm… that jutsu?" Choji asked while chewing like crazy on his chips.

"It is… lightning."

Everyone turned to Zabuza, who had just blurted out that answer.

"It's the vibrating nature of lightning element chakra," the Mist swordsman glared at Kakashi. "That technique… he sent lightning-element chakra into the ice around him, vibrating the water molecules in there to the maximum frequency… to the point the water forming the ice disintegrated. You taught him that, Kakashi?"

The masked jonin chuckled. "Sorry, but I didn't. Sasuke was the one who created it when I taught him about lightning element; I only helped him completing it. That jutsu is not as strong as the Chidori when it comes to killing… but in a way, it is even more powerful and destructive than my jutsu."

"Woohoo! Sasuke-kun is so awesome!" Ino cheered loudly.

_Sasuke… That boy, he's such an incredible kid, _Kakashi thought. _It will be a disaster if someone like him falls into evil hands._

00000

"So… back to the start again, are we?" Haku smiled. Sasuke smirked, and answered.

"Yeah. But this time, things will be different! Fire Style: Phoenix Flower Jutsu!"

Balls of fire erupted from Sasuke's mouth and flew towards Haku with the speed of cannonballs. With a quick hand sign, a slab of ice rose in front of Haku like a wall, protecting her when the bullets of fire bombarded it one after another.

Her eyes narrowed when the rather thick and heavy ice barrier shook dangerously with each impact.

_The power of his fire jutsu increased…_

Then her eyes widened when a blue blade of lightning chakra pierced through the ice slab. She quickly leaned aside to avoid it, but it still managed to graze through her left shoulder.

"Ugh-!"

Her arm suddenly felt numb, as if she'd just stuck it into a huge block of the coldest ice in the world.

"Surprised?" She heard Sasuke's voice from behind the ice slab. "Your ice might be so strong that even fire cannot melt, but lightning pierces everything."

The wall of ice crumbled, revealing Haku who couldn't move her left arm due to the numbing sensation.

"Now let's see what you can do against me with one useless arm!"

With those words, Sasuke leapt at Haku and engaged her in a relentless taijutsu and kenjutsu assault. But with one arm lacking, it seemed she couldn't hold herself as good as before.

Finally, with a quick thrust, Sasuke's sword impaled her in the stomach.

On the stands, a loud gasp echoed.

"Oi Sasuke!" Naruto exclaimed in horror. "You didn't have to go that far!"

'_**Don't worry Naruto, it's not over yet. Look closely.'**_

Down at the arena, Sasuke's victorious smirk morphed into a horrified gape when the Haku in front of him turned into a block of ice. Said ice was now creeping up the blade of the katana in a very fast pace. The Uchiha immediately let go of his sword, right before the ice completely froze the hilt.

"Seriously Sasuke-san," the silky voice of Haku rose from behind him. "Did you forget that I'm specialized in fighting with one hand?"

Sasuke snapped his head back, only to find himself facing a mirror.

And not only one mirror. A dome of mirrors had surrounded him, each reflecting an image of Haku. Just like the time at the bridge.

And worse, this time, the mirrors were all connected with each other. There was absolutely no gap for him to escape from the dome of mirrors. Not like before.

Sasuke is very fast for a genin of his age. In normal conditions, he definitely has a clear advantage against most genin in speed, power, and flexibility. The training with Kakashi during the last month improved those advantages even further, making him one of the most powerful genin of Konohagakure.

But this was not a normal condition. Inside this dome of mirror, Haku was always the fastest. Even though his Sharingan had advanced enough for him to see her movement, there's no way his reflex would catch up with her, unless she's out of chakra. And it didn't seem to be the case at that moment.

And who knows what kind of training Zabuza, her jonin teacher and adoptive father, the one famous for his power and brutality, bearing the alias Devil of the Hidden Mist, gave her during the training month?

_Okay Sasuke, think… What did you do the last time you're trapped in this jutsu…?_

The last time, his fire jutsu, together with Naruto's wind jutsu, had blown up the mirror dome. But there's no Naruto here now…

From a mirror, Haku's body started emerging, ready for the assault that would finish Sasuke off…

_Wait… She has to leave the mirror if she wants to strike me!_

If that's the case, he has a way.

It would cost a lot of chakra… but it's now, or never!

Haku emerged completely from the mirror and started ricocheting between mirrors, while pelting Sasuke with her senbon. The Uchiha winced when the deadly needles stabbed into his body.

_Not yet… It's not ready yet… A few more seconds…_

Haku flew towards him, a bunch of senbon on her hand, ready for the finishing strike.

_Now!_

"Chidori… CURRENT!"

Lightning blasted out from Sasuke's body, lighting up the whole ice dome, making it look like a disco ball when looking from the outside. The air was suddenly full of Haku's screams of pain and horror, startling everyone in the stadium.

"What the…?" Zabuza muttered. "What's happening in there? Don't tell me…"

Sasuke's voice rose from inside the dome. "Surrender now, or you will die."

The walls of ice crumbled down, revealing an… awkward scene.

Sasuke was sprawling face-down on the ground, breathing hard; his clothes were torn and sleazy. And under him was a blushing and trembling Haku, whose eyes were full of tears and limbs were pinned down under the boy's arms and legs. Half of her skirt and a large part of her sweater were torn apart, revealing rather large bits of her… ahem… underwear to the audiences.

Awkward silence.

"I… I forfeit," Haku answered in a meek voice. "But since you've done this to me… you'll need to take responsibility…"

"Wha…?"

"Die, Uchiha!"

Sasuke had to scramble out of the way when Kubikiribocho soared through the air, aiming for his neck.

"What the hell…?!"

"DIE DIE DIE DIE DIE!"

Let's just say right now, Sasuke was running faster than even Lee with his weights removed. And with a tired body, no less.

While Sasuke was running for his life with Zabuza right behind him, Kubikiribocho swinging haphazardly, Naruto jumped down to the arena and picked Haku up, bridal style.

"You did that on purpose, did you Haku-chan?" he deadpanned. The girl only giggled mischievously in response. Naruto sighed.

"I can't believe you're such a sore loser… what are you doing?" he raised an eyebrow when Haku started rubbing her cheek on his chest.

"You smell so good…" she answered in a dreamy voice.

Naruto really wanted to facepalm, but if he did that he would drop her. So he had to satisfy himself with a deep sigh.

Luckily for him, Zabuza was too busy trying to maim Sasuke to see the… well… rather intimate actions of the two children.

00000

Somewhere else…

Hinata bolted up from her bed.

"Naruto-kun is being violated!"

Then she felt over, back into her coma again.

"Dear Kami! Hinata-san!"

00000

"Okay…" Hayate said awkwardly. "Since Haku has forfeited… The winner of this match is Sasuke Uchiha!"

00000

"Our Haku-chan is so cute, do you think so Hokage-sama, Kazekage-sama?" Mei giggled in the Kage box. Hiruzen smiled.

"Indeed; she is a rather interesting genin you have there, Mizukage-sama."

"What she used is the Ice Style kekkei genkai, right? Interesting… And the Uchiha's power… Nice…" From under his veil, the voice of the Kazekage also rose up. There was a very slight hint of hunger in that voice; so tiny that almost no one could hear it.

But that didn't escape the ears of the Third Hokage.

Hiruzen's eyes narrowed slightly for a moment, but it went away as quickly as it had come, and he smiled again.

"Well, I assure you that there are still many other interesting things you haven't seen, Kazekage-sama."

* * *

><p>Finally, after Kakashi and two other jonin managed to restrain Zabuza and pull him back to the stand, Sasuke finally dragged himself up to the box for contestants. He looked half dead.<p>

"Are you okay?" Naruto raised an eyebrow.

"Do you even have to ask?" Sasuke breathed out in exhaustion. "That man is crazy! And stop laughing, you," he snapped when Haku began to giggle.

And she had already changed into a new set of clothes, so please stop your naughty thinking.

Everyone, minus Gaara of course, broke into laughter. Even Neji, who's supposed to be the cool and stoic Hyuuga, also smirked slightly.

Except for one person.

And somehow, Naruto was the only one who noticed that. The others were too busy laughing and teasing Sasuke, or in Sasuke's place, fuming in rage and sputtering meaningless noises to notice. Maybe it was because of Kurama's ability to sense negative emotions.

"Sakura," he lightly grasped the girl's shoulder and whispered to her ear. "You're worried, aren't you?"

Sakura nearly jumped when the hand touched her shoulder, but managed to relax when she realized that was Naruto's.

"Y-yeah…" she mumbled. She wanted to look at him, but her head felt so heavy she couldn't even lift it up.

Then she nearly jumped again when she felt Naruto's arm wrapping around her waist.

She really wanted to turn back and mow him down for daring to touch her like that, especially in that place. But…

"Don't worry, Sakura! I know that you trained yourself hard during the last month! With all those training, I believe you can do it! Just give it all your best, and don't let his taunts get into your head, and you'll be fine!"

He's cheering for her. Somehow, it calmed her down, and all the fear lingering in her head seemed to disappear. She felt herself stronger and more confident. And…

_Why is he so… warm…? No, no, bad Sakura, he's Naruto! Don't think about him like that!_

"Will the two next contestants, Sakura Haruno and Neji Hyuuga, come down here for the next match to start?"

"Hey, it's time!" Naruto slapped his pink-haired teammate's back. "Show it to them that you're a real kunoichi!"

Sakura smiled. All of her hesitation and fright had completely gone.

"Yeah. Thanks, Naruto."

Then she bopped Naruto on the head.

"Ow! What was that for?"

"That's for feeling me up, idiot!"

But Naruto smiled, knowing that the hit was noticeably gentler than before.

* * *

><p>Neji glared at Sakura and sneered in his usual haughty voice.<p>

"Fate has decided that you will lose to me. You, a useless fangirl, have no chance against me. I've noticed since the moment you arrived at the stadium. You couldn't stop trembling; your head was lowered, and your eyes kept glancing left and right. That's the sign of hesitation, discouragement and lack of confidence. That's why…"

"Oh, shut up!"

Not only Neji, but everyone was taken aback with the girl's answer.

"What did you just say?" Neji's eyes narrowed.

"I said 'shut up'," Sakura simply said. "Who gives you the right to judge other people? I didn't train my ass off all last month to surrender before we even start fighting!"

It seems she caught up a bit of Anko's language, too.

"You are annoying, and a fool," Neji shook his head. "Rushing headfirst into battle without even thinking of the consequences… Just like _Hinata-sama," _he said those last words in a venomous tone.

_Hinata again… What is wrong with those two…?_

"By the way, why do you hate Hinata so much?" Sakura voiced her question, and Neji's eyes immediately hardened.

"It's none of your business," he snapped coldly. But that only made Sakura more curious.

"I don't get it. What did Hinata ever do to you? A sweet, innocent girl like her… She doesn't want to harm even an ant…"

Suddenly, Neji rushed at Sakura like a mad bull, his left palm full of chakra lashed out at the girl like a snake lunging at its prey. Luckily, Sakura managed to jump back to avoid the strike, but when she looked at Neji's face, she could see the furious rage engraved into his eyes and the snarl on his mouth.

_He opened combat first… So Hinata's name pushed his berserk button…_

Sakura took a few jumps backwards, and with a flick of her arm, a barrage of shuriken was sent towards Neji. The Hyuuga easily avoided it by tilting his head to the right.

When Neji managed to keep his balance, he was even more surprised when he saw Sakura right in front of him, her fist cocked back.

But this kind of attack was not something that could give Neji a hard time. He quickly ducked, and the fist soared above his head. He could hear the whizzing sound of tearing wind in the air.

The girl's reckless punch packed a lot of power, but it left a huge hole in her defense. And Neji was not the one who would waste such an opportunity. His hand lashed out again, aiming at her exposed stomach. And this time, it hit.

With a loud pop and smoke, a log appeared in place of Sakura.

_Substitution…!?_

Equipped with the Byakugan, Neji didn't have to look up to see the real Sakura descending down his head. He quickly rolled away, right before the girl's foot smashed the place where he had just stood, leaving a rather large web of cracks on the ground.

"Tch—"

But Sakura didn't just stop there.

"Jet Step!"

Right upon touching the ground, a quick burst of chakra exploded from the bottom of her feet, propelling her towards Neji like a springboard. The momentum of the chakra burst also boosted her kick, which was now flying toward Neji's waist in a rather high speed. Neji raised his left arm to block, and cringed when he felt his wrist nearly broken under the impact. That kick was, by no doubt, nearly as strong as Lee's.

But the kick also left a fatal opening. It was a flying kick, and with such a close distance, if Neji counters, the girl will not have any way to dodge.

Neji's right hand lashed out, aiming for Sakura's chest.

But the strike never connected. Right before his palm could touch Sakura, another burst of chakra was released from her feet, quickly pushing her away from the incoming attack. The pinkette backflipped on the air, and landed on the ground gracefully without even breaking a sweat, but not before delivering a kick across Neji's nose, drawing a thin line of blood.

The two fighters separated, and Sakura gave Neji a mock smile.

"Still gonna call me a useless fangirl, Mr. Hyuuga prodigy?"

Neji's face turned purple with fury.

00000

"Go Sakura! Kick his ass!" Ino screamed from her seat on the stand.

"You got a good student there, Kakashi," Asuma nodded at Kakashi. The cyclops jonin just chuckled.

"What is Jet Step? I haven't heard of anything like that before," Kiba looked at Kakashi. The jonin chuckled again.

"Frankly, it's just the release of chakra from her feet. It's just a normal technique that any genin with training of chakra control can use. However, with Sakura, the one who has perfect chakra control, together with her raw power… it becomes the most dangerous and effective weapon we could ever think of."

"But why is she only using taijutsu?" Kurenai also raised a question. "That was only for close-range combat, and Neji specializes in that! That would put her in a severe disadvantage!"

"Nah, don't worry Kurenai," Kakashi answered her with an eyesmile. "Sakura might be excellent in chakra control and genjutsu, but actually, the skill she has the most potential in is taijutsu. I believe she will be able to hold her own, and defeat Neji."

"You're kidding!" Kurenai gasped in disbelief. "You think I don't know who that girl is? She's a fangirl of the Uchiha who'd just started training seriously for more than a month! And you let her fight against Neji, the Hyuuga prodigy, with only taijutsu?! Haven't you noticed what happened to Hinata? And she was the member of the Hyuuga clan, no less!"

"I have to agree with Kurenai here, Kakashi," Gai also said. "It's youthful to trust in your student, but this is very irresponsible of you. If this continues, she will get hurt."

Kakashi turned to Gai and Kurenai. "Gai, you, of all people, don't have the right to tell me that. You think I don't know that you taught forbidden jutsu to one of your genin? Do you know that it can kill him? And you let another fall so deep into hatred and vengeance he now become like this," he glanced at Neji in the arena. "What kind of irresponsible teacher is that?"

The words of Kakashi stunned Gai for a moment. He opened his mouth to retort, but Kakashi raised one hand to stop him.

"Just keep watching, Gai. You will understand why Sakura will win this match. After all, she still hasn't shown up all of her tricks. There are things that users of only taijutsu cannot do."

00000

It's true that Sakura did push herself to the limit during her training days, and had improved so much that there was no trace of the old fangirl Sakura left on her.

But Neji was not called the genius of the Hyuuga clan for naught.

Sakura's attacks, while deadly, were not unpredictable. As a specialist in taijutsu, he got himself familiar with most of Sakura's attack pattern after trading only a few blows, and soon, he was finally able to push the girl back.

It was a miracle Sakura didn't let him land any decisive blow on her body.

A quick push from Neji made Sakura jumped back a few steps. She crouched back into her stance, breathing heavily.

"Have you realized the difference between our strength?" From the middle of the arena, the voice of Neji rose again. "You are just trying in vain. No matter how hard you try, you can never defeat me. Trying to change yourself through hard work is just an illusion."

The pinkette grimaced. _It's true… Even with all those blows, I couldn't even land a clean hit on him. He's just too strong… Do I have any hope…?_

Then she shook her head. _This is not the time for thinking about that. I'm here to win, and I've prepared so much for this. There is no time for hesitation!_

It's time for her to change tactic. If power isn't effective, speed will be the next thing to try.

"Jet Step…"

Neji's eyes narrowed. _What is she going to do…?_

"… Second Shift."

The ground under Sakura's feet exploded, and the girl flew towards Neji with the speed of a rocket.

If Jet Step First Shift is the quick, constant release of chakra to make Sakura's movement faster and more flexible, the Second Shift is a powerful concentrated burst of chakra, released in an instant, to make her body a bullet shot from a gun.

Human's eyes, kekkei genkai or not, might be able to see the way a bullet flies at them. But evading it is a completely different matter.

The Hyuuga's eyes could see the movement, but his body couldn't follow it fast enough. Only through sheer luck and reflex did he manage to avoid the fist of the girl from caving his face in, but it still grazed across the side of his face, and ripped his hitai-ate off his head. The headband fell to the ground with a loud "clang".

Sakura turned, and with another explosion of chakra, flew at Neji again, her fist launching another punch. And this time, it met the target.

Or more exactly, it should have.

There was a layer of chakra surrounding Neji's body. Her punch, although enhanced with the boost of speed, couldn't get through it. And…

"Rotation!"

Sakura was thrown away violently when the dome of chakra erupted from the Hyuuga's body. She fell mercilessly on the ground with a loud "thud", and winced when feeling the bone in her left arm cracked slightly by the impact.

On the stand, Hiashi Hyuuga's eyes narrowed. _Rotation… How can it be…? It's the special technique only passed down to the heirs of the clan… Did he master it on his own…?_

"What… what is that?" Sakura breathed out, and Neji smirked.

"This is the Hyuuga clan's absolute defense, Revolving Heaven. You cannot…"

"I'm not asking about that. I'm asking about _that."_

Her finger was pointing at Neji's forehead, where the symbol of the Caged Bird Seal lay.

Neji's eyes hardened. "So you saw this. If you really want to know, this is the symbol of the Hyuuga clan's curse of hatred, a mark showing the fate of the Branch House members. And this…" his voice suddenly turned to a snarl, "is the reason why my father was killed, by the main family.

"The Branch House has the fate of becoming the ones who protect members of the Main House, and that destiny was marked with this Caged Bird Seal. When I was four, I was turned into 'the bird in the cage' through this curse. They're not simply for decoration; they are also the tool of the Main House to seal the Byakugan off when we die, and to keep us in place like dog leashes."

The Hyuuga's hands curled into fists. "One night, Hinata-sama was kidnapped by someone. Of course, Hiashi-sama noticed it right away, and killed the kidnapper with a blow to his heart. Do you know who he was? He was the ambassador of Kumogakure, who was in Konoha that day to sign an alliance with the village!"

A murmur spread through the audience.

"Because of that, Kumo and Konoha nearly got into a war," Neji spat out with a hateful glare. "But then, Konoha got an excellent idea to prevent that from happening: offering the body of a Hyuuga with the Byakugan as peace treaty. And whose body it was? Of course it was my father's! He was killed by the Main House to replace Hiashi-sama, who is too precious for them to lose!"

This time, a loud gasp echoed through the stadium. There were people who knew about the Hyuuga clan affair before, but hearing it out from a member of the clan made it sound ten times worse. Some eyes glanced at Hiashi, who was now trying his best not to bury his face in his hands.

"Is it true sensei?" Ino looked at Gai. "Is it true that Hinata's dad killed Neji's dad?"

"I don't know," the taijutsu master shook his head. "I have asked Neji about this before, but he didn't answer. I don't even know what he's just said was true or not. The Hyuuga clan likes to keep their secrets for themselves, so…"

"So that's it," Sakura murmured. She had arrived here, with the only intention to defeat the Hyuuga jerk at first, but she didn't expect that there was such a long history behind the boy. "That's the reason why you're so hostile against Hinata… You think that she was the reason behind your father's death…"

"Finally realized it, eh?" Neji smirked. "Then you should have understood that no matter how hard you try, you will never escape fate. Just like my father and I being pushed into the Branch House… Everything is always for the sake of the Main House… Never were members of the Branch House deserved any respect…"

"Is it the truth, or is it what you thought?"

Neji surely didn't expect such a question. "What?"

"I am asking you if that is really the truth or just what you imagined by yourself," Sakura repeated calmly. Her face, surprisingly, was full of disgust, disappointment, and even pity. "It is true that your father was dead, but what does it have to do with Hinata? She was just a three-year-old child at that time! And you have been trying to kill her, because she couldn't do anything to fight back against a **jonin-level **ninja at least! I am not the best at those tragedy stories, but even I can see that you are just trying to find someone to blame for your father's death!"

"You…" Neji snarled angrily, but Sakura didn't let him finish his sentence.

"I'm disgusted of the name 'prodigy' people give you. I understand you're hurt because of your father's demise, but it's wrong to think destiny is all decided because of that. And you also have no right to force other people to believe in the 'fate' you decide for them!"

Neji's Byakugan gleamed dangerously. Then, with a very quick movement, he charged at Sakura. The girl couldn't react fast enough to dodge the fingers aiming at her.

"Eight Trigrams… Two palms!"

Sakura gasped when the fingers poked her at the ribs. She felt a sharp pain, like needles stabbing through her skin, and the places attacked went numb.

"Four palms!... Eight palms!... Sixteen palms!... Thirty-two palms… SIXTY-FOUR PALMS!"

On the stand, Hiashi's eyes widened. _That… is the Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms…_

Sakura screamed and stumbled back. Her whole body was burned with searing pain, and she couldn't feel chakra in her body any more.

_This… this is what Hinata had to suffer…?!_

The pinkette's body fell on the ground with a loud "thud".

"I have warned you, and you didn't listen," Neji glared coldly at the girl on the ground. "A spoiled brat like you, who knows nothing about the pain of losing someone close to you, can never understand. You can never understand what it's like to be burdened with something you can never get rid of. That is something decided by destiny, and there is no way to change it. My father tried to defy his destiny once, and he was killed. That was the fate of people who tried to go against their destiny. Just like you."

Then he turned to Hayate. "Referee, this match is over. She cannot fight any more. Declare the winner."

"Don't… underestimate… me…!"

Neji glanced back, and was shocked when he saw Sakura pushing herself up from the ground.

_How…? She shouldn't have been able to move…_

"I… may not be able… to understand that pain of yours…" she gasped out. "But… don't you dare thinking… that only you have a bad past… Both of my teammates… have pasts even worse than you… Both… lost nearly everything precious… of their lives… One of them… also has to bear… the greatest burden… He was the deadlast of our class… the troublemaker of the village… Everyone hates him… But he never… He has always faced them with a smile… always tried to become better… And now… he has become one of the best genin I've ever seen… (on the contestant box, Naruto grinned, and Sasuke snorted) He is the one… who gave me the reason to become a better kunoichi… So… don't you dare… saying that people cannot change…!"

"Ha! Better kunoichi, you say?" Neji laughed. "Right now you cannot even stand properly! Without proof, all those pretty words you have just said are just empty, meaningless blabbers! Face it; you will never be able to become anything but a weakling who can do nothing but depends on your teammates!"

"Don't listen to him, Sakura!"

Everyone turned to the contestant's box, where this new voice originated. It was Naruto who had just yelled out. He was looking at Sakura with an encouraging smile on his face.

"If you believe in yourself, there is nothing you cannot do! As long as we are here, you will never be a weakling! Give it your best, and show him what you got!"

"It is true!" Next to Naruto, Lee was also screaming to the sky with his signature loud voice. "Your way of thinking is the most youthful, Sakura-san! The flame of youth is burning brightly inside you; you will prevail! After this exam is over, please be my girlfriend!"

"Lee!" Tenten scolded him in horror.

Sakura would have blushed like mad and try to scramble away from there as fast as possible if her body hadn't hurt so much.

"Heh… Don't worry… I don't plan to give up right now…" she grinned. She had finally managed to stand up properly.

_That's right… This is the time to unleash my final trump card…!_

00000

_(Flashback)_

"_Remember Sakura, an important note when you fight Hyuuga clan members is that you must never let them hit you," Kakashi said. "As far as I know, they have attacks that are able to hit your tenketsu and shut them down, making you unable to access chakra. If that's the case, even Jet Step will become useless."_

"_You're asking me the impossible thing, sensei," Sakura stared at him. "Try my best or not, Neji is still a taijutsu genius. How can I fight him without getting hit even once?"_

_Kakashi winced. That was a pretty good reasoning. That Neji boy was a member of the Hyuuga clan, famous for their taijutsu, and a student of __**Gai**__, no less. Even with her newly developed technique, how might he expect Sakura to win without letting him hit her?_

"_If that's the case, we'll have to find a way to counter him when you're hit, then. But…" Kakashi scratched his cheek, "I don't think there is any way to counter it once you got hit by them. Unless you can force your tenketsu open with a strong burst of chakra from an outside source…"_

"_Well, that was easy," Anko butted in. "Just store your chakra into a scroll, then when you're hit, pop it out, and voila! Good as new! Ha ha ha!" she laughed._

_That was only a joke, but Kakashi's visible eye suddenly widened._

"_You know, that's actually not a bad idea…"_

_(End flashback)_

00000

Neji's right eyebrow quirked when Sakura clapped her hands together.

"It's useless. Your chakra network was sealed completely. You cannot use chakra any more, don't bother… Huh?"

His eyes widened when a blue flame of chakra started glowing around Sakura's stomach. Not only that, it was glowing stronger and stronger.

_What…? How? This is impossible!_

Then the flame exploded. With the Byakugan activated, Neji could see, in horror, chakra bursting from the place on Sakura's stomach into her chakra network. Wherever the chakra stream spread to, the tenketsu there was forced open immediately.

"What… What is this? How did you…?"

"Surprised, huh?" Sakura smiled triumphantly. "This is all the chakra I've stored during the last training month. Seems the Gentle Fist is not so perfect any more, is it? Now prepare yourself, because this will be the last attack of this match!"

With those words, Sakura once again launched herself at Neji.

_That chakra burst… it's even stronger than before…!_

"Rotation!"

Sakura was once again tossed away by the dome of chakra surrounding Neji, but this time, with a burst of chakra, she did a backflip on the air and landed on the ground easily and quickly enough to pull out some shuriken and throw them at Neji, who had just finished spinning. The boy also pulled out his own shuriken and threw; the star-shaped projectiles met each other on the air, making some loud "clang".

_Why didn't he just use Rotation again…? Could it be…?_

For the first time since the match began, Neji's face showed a worried expression.

Sakura rushed in again with another air-splitting kick, and this time, Neji had to retreat.

Neji Hyuuga, the prodigy of the Hyuuga clan, of all people, was forced to retreat in a taijutsu battle…!

With a normal kunoichi without any special ability, no less…!

But even Sakura couldn't hold it for much longer. Forceful sudden injection of such a large amount of chakra into the body of a human is dangerous. Even right now, Sakura's whole body was in throbbing pain.

Yet, she was still forcing her way in valiantly, not even caring about her body.

"Why…? Why are you trying so hard…?"

"Because," Sakura punctuated every word with a punch, "you looked down on everyone with lower status than you! You spat on people's effort to become better, thinking it was decided by some stupid destiny and fate! And…" she launched an especially nasty punch to Neji's face, forcing the Hyuuga to duck and roll away, "…you said that I could not become anything but a weakling who needed to depend on my teammates!"

She bounced back, and Neji's Byakugan widened when he realized all the remaining chakra in Sakura's body started flowing towards her feet.

_Not good…! _"Rotation!"

Neji's ultimate defense exploded into life once again with maximum force right before the pink bullet slammed into him with all the power she could managed. The two forces collided, and for a while, it seemed the girl had managed to pierce through.

But finally, Sakura was the one who was thrown away, even more forcefully than before, by the immense force of the Revolving Heaven.

Even in the hand of a genin, the ultimate defensive jutsu of the Hyuuga clan is still not a force that can be underestimated. It was created based on the concept of "retaliation" with all of its meaning. The more powerful the opponent's techniques are, the more damaging Rotation becomes.

And with the speed and power Sakura was exuding right now… it was no wonder why she was blown away so violently.

Most people didn't even notice the senbon flying out of Sakura's sleeve towards the spinning dome.

Senbon, different from kunai, is very small and slim, and thus faster and harder to be noticed from afar, as Haku had, very clearly and painfully for her enemies, proved it.

And it is even more dangerous with an exploding tag wrapping outside.

The Byakugan has a vision of 360 degrees, so even when spinning, Neji could still see everything around him without getting dizzy. Therefore, it is not a big surprise to see the very same eyes widening in horror when he saw the lone senbon advancing towards him as the dome of chakra around him started reducing in size and exploded when his Rotation completely dissipated.

Just remember, everyone: even if you don't have stupidly humongous tailed beast chakra or fancy exploding clay ninjutsu, you can still make some nice booms with just papers with weird symbols on them.

_She… timed the explosion so perfectly… right after my Rotation completely finished… What… is she…?_

"What happened?" From the stand, Kurenai exclaimed. "Where did that explosion come from?"

"It's from Sakura, right before she crashed on the ground," Kakashi explained.

"They're both down!" Ino said, pointing at the arena. It was true; right now both Sakura and Neji were sprawling on the ground.

Who will be the winner…?

Then, Neji was the one who managed to push himself up first. The boy's body was full of bruises. He was breathing heavily, and his Byakugan were deactivated.

"You fought well…" he gasped out when dragging his feet to where Sakura was lying. "But this is… the end… This is… reality…"

Gai looked at Kakashi. "Too bad, my eternal rival, but the match is decided. Being able to push Neji of all people this much, your student burned brightly with the flame of youth. It's a pity she lost."

"I wouldn't say that so soon if I were you, Gai," Kakashi answered him in a triumphant tone.

"What…?"

That was also what Neji exclaimed when two hands emerged from the ground, and grabbed his legs.

"Earth Style: Headhunter Jutsu!"

"How… how did you…?" The Hyuuga could only croak those words out after he was buried to the neck in the ground. Sakura, who was standing above him right now, pointed a kunai at his forehead. She looked completely exhausted, but in her eyes, there was a blazing flame of determination which forced her to stay standing. And she was no longer wearing her longcoat.

"It was because you never bothered to look underneath the underneath, Neji," she said. She was so tired that her voice was reduced to near whisper. "Over there is just a decoy I made with my coat right before I crashed to the ground. The explosion was also only a decoy; my aim since you first use your Rotation has always been trapping you in the ground like this. If you cannot move, all of your Gentle Fist abilities are useless. Now," she moved her kunai down to his neck, "will you forfeit?"

_She… actually managed to defy fate… Could it be…?_

"I… forfeit."

This was the first time everyone in the stadium heard the prodigy of the Hyuuga clan uttered those sad words.

Silence filled the air for a few seconds. Then, Hayate's voice boomed around the stadium.

"Winner by forfeit, Sakura Haruno!"

The crowd erupted into cheers. Everyone was surprised that the Hyuuga prodigy was defeated, and by forfeit, no less, by a normal kunoichi who had still just been a fanatic member of the Sasuke fan club just a few months ago.

"Thank goodness… It's finally over… I did it…"

With those final words, Sakura finally allowed herself to collapse.

* * *

><p>"Will Sakura be alright?"<p>

The medic-nin treating Sakura lifted his head up and gave Naruto a smile.

"Don't worry. Aside from chakra exhaustion, fractured arm bones, three broken ribs and slight rupture in her chakra network due to the forced injection of chakra into the system, she'll be alright. But it seems she will not be able to continue the Chuunin Exam. What a pity; she is such a promising candidate…"

"That's not what I would call 'alright', you know…" Naruto mumbled. The medic-nin chuckled.

"Oh, cheer up, boy. Your girlfriend will be fine with us. By the way, your match is coming, isn't it? You'd better focus on that rather than worrying about her."

Naruto blushed. "Wha… She's not my girlfriend!"

'_**Didn't you have a crush on her since you're in the academy?' **_Kurama noted dryly.

'_Not helping!'_

'_**But you know,' **_Shukaku suddenly said, _**'that girl's fight reminds me of your own battle during our time, Naruto. The reckless charges, the speech, using chakra to force open the chakra network… Even that final underground attack, too. Don't you find it weird?'**_

'_Aw, so Shuki-senpai noticed me, hehe.' _Naruto grinned mentally.

Even not being able to see, he could still feel Shukaku blushing bright red.

Yup, he was able to make **Shukaku**, of all people,blush. Naruto is just that awesome.

'_**Wha… how… bwah… You! I didn't! And stop calling me with that name!'**_

'_**Tsundere,' **_Gyuuki snorted, and received a punch to the face, courtesy of our favourite flustering tanuki.

'_**That's not true Shukaku,' **_Kokuoh shook his head. _**'That girl's attacks might be reckless, but they're all practiced thoroughly from before the match; that's why she could execute them so perfectly. I bet she got a strategy for this match even before they started fighting. That's completely different from Naruto's style: reckless, unpredictable without any strategy… and sometimes brainless, too.'**_

'_Hey!'_

'_**Hey look,' **_Isobu piped in, _**'the match of the Nara boy and the Sand girl is about to begin.'**_

* * *

><p>"Gai, can I have a moment with Neji alone?"<p>

Hiashi Hyuuga stepped into the medical chamber. The taijutsu master looked at him warily for a moment, but then he nodded and walked out of the room, leaving the two Hyuuga alone.

"What do you want?" Neji sneered. "Are you here to laugh at me?"

"I am not, and you will never see me doing that," Hiashi answered stoically. "The reason I'm here… is to apologize to you."

Then, the proud head of the Hyuuga clan did something no one could ever expect. He kneeled on the ground and bowed down to Neji.

Neji was completely shocked. However, at the same time, a barbaric happiness surged up from inside his stomach.

"And you think saying sorry alone is enough?" he snapped bitterly. "Sorry alone won't bring my father back. Can you bring him back to me? Why should I accept your apology?"

Hiashi stayed silent for a while. Then, he answered sadly.

"That is also what I come here for. I want to talk to you about your father."

Neji's eyes widened.

* * *

><p>"We regret to inform you that Contestant Sakura Haruno is in no condition to continue with the Exam. However, because Contestant Neji Hyuuga has lost his match, he cannot replace Contestant Haruno."<p>

Hayate's announcement raised a wave of murmur from the audience.

"Because of this unexpected circumstance, after the three last matches of the first round, there will be two semi-final matches and then, the two winners of the semi-final matches will face each other in the final match. Now, will the two next contestants, Shikamaru Nara of Konohagakure, and Temari of Sunagakure come down to the field?"

Temari floated down to the field immediately with a swing of her giant fan. However, Shikamaru still leaned on the rail of the contestant box and sighed.

"This is so troublesome… Why do I have to fight? And my opponent is a girl, no less! Maybe I should just throw the match right now…"

Poor guy. He didn't even see Naruto and _Sasuke's _evil grins behind his back.

"Oh, just go down there, will you?"

The Nara boy couldn't even scream out when two hands grabbed his collar from behind and threw him down the contestant's box.

"I've always wanted to do that," a rather smug looking Sasuke looked at Naruto, who answered him with a grin.

"You don't know anything, Sasuke, you just don't know anything."

"Curse you, Naruto and Sasuke!"

* * *

><p>'<em><strong>I have to admit, that boy is lazy, but when needed, he's pretty good,' <strong>_Isobu noted while Shikamaru was jumping back to avoid the swing of the gigantic fan at his cranium.

Then he winced when the Nara boy was blasted to the wall with a tornado. _**'Ooh, that must have hurt. That Temari girl was so brutal.'**_

'_**Especially when it comes to her future boyfriend,' **_Shukaku piped in. She had lived with the girl for so long it became kind of a common knowledge.

'_Don't worry. Shikamaru is incredibly smart! He will definitely find some way to counter her. Oh, there he goes,' _Naruto added when Shikamaru slipped into his thinking pose.

* * *

><p>Temari looked at her opponent with wary eyes when he sat down and did a weird gesture with his hand. <em>What is that lazy bum doing?<em>

Then her eyes narrowed when a victorious grin appeared in his face.

She jumped back a few steps to avoid the shadow shooting out from his feet, which was now chasing after her.

The shadow was moving with a considerable speed towards Temari, but that speed wasn't anything a ninja of Temari's caliber couldn't follow. She jumped left and right, easily evading the black tendrils chasing after her. And she smirked when the shadow stopped when they're just one step from catching up.

It was near noon already, and it seemed the shadows were all shortened so much Shikamaru's technique could only stretch that far. Fifteen metres is the limit.

Her opponent's specialty is shadow controlling. As long as she can avoid the trees where there'll be lots of shadow, she'll be fine.

Then she saw a bunch of shuriken and kunai flying at her.

_So the shadows are just distraction…! But this is foolish. _"Wind Scythe Jutsu!"

She swung her fan, and the deadly projectiles were swatted away with another mini tornado. And on the branches of the trees in the battleground, deep scratches started appearing. The jutsu also has very potent cutting power.

But…

All the shuriken and kunai suddenly stopped in the air after they were deflected. Then they turned midair, and once again flew at Temari, who was caught completely surprised and had to jump away from the barrage of steel coming from every direction, courtesy of her _own _jutsu.

_Those shadows of him… He was using them to control the flight path of his weapons?!_

She was the one who started the assault, but he was the one who had played her like a puppet since the start of the match…!

And there he was, looking at her and smirking like a bastard…

_Alright, calm down Temari… There was nothing to lose your head about… You still have the advantage of range… As long as I stay out of the shadow's range, I will be fine…_

The shadow once again advanced towards her. But there's no need to worry; she's still out of the shadow's range…

Then to her surprise and horror, the black tendril on the ground slid through the kunai and shuriken littering on the ground just like a snake. And it was closing the distance faster and faster.

The shadows of kunai and shuriken might not be very long, but they are perfect for a shadow user to exploit for extending his shadow when they're connected with each other. With each weapon shadow on the ground, Shikamaru will have another additional 15 metres to the range of his own shadow.

That means with all those weapons littering on the ground, he will have complete control over the whole battleground…!

Temari knew she was completely outsmarted. There was absolutely no redundant move he had made; everything he threw at her was planned clearly and thoroughly in advance. Even her own movements were also within his calculation.

The Suna girl's blood boiled. There's no way she would let that bastard play her as he wanted.

She spun and swung her fan with all her might, and all the kunai and shuriken on the ground were all blown to the sky. They flew out of the stadium, and their shadows disappeared from the ground. Without the additional shadows, Shikamaru's stopped chasing after her, and started shrinking.

With those annoying things out of the battlefield, she wouldn't have to worry about the shadow any more…

Then she had to hastily withdraw her fan to block when Shikamaru appeared suddenly out of nowhere and threw a punch at her. She smirked when the punch couldn't even make her hand shake.

"That's all you have? Pathetic."

"No…" The smirk didn't even faze on the Nara's face, "Shadow Possession Jutsu… success."

_What the…? Oh no!_

She had completely forgotten, for just a moment, that when he closed the distance, the distance between their shadows was also reduced. But that very same moment was the thing which cost her the match.

And now she could only stand there and glare at the boy in rage, completely unable to do anything when he started raising his hand.

"Oh well, this is such a drag. I forfeit."

Yeah, talk about dramatic. This timeline had become so close to Naruto's timeline it was becoming kinda stupid.

"Wait, what the hell? What do you mean you forfeit?" Temari asked in confusion when the shadow retreated from her feet.

"Using the Shadow Possession Jutsu for so long has exhausted my chakra," Shikamaru sighed. "I'm getting tired of this; one match is enough. Being able to think of 200 moves ahead will not do anything if I don't have chakra."

It's needless to describe how appalled the whole stadium was right now.

"LIAR! You just said that because you're lazy!" Naruto said loudly.

The tension suddenly broke. Nearly everyone broke into laughter, and Shikamaru muttered.

"Damn that Naruto… He's the most troublesome person I've ever met…"

Hayate chuckled. That Nara boy was strange, but at the same time, he had great potential.

"Winner by forfeit, Temari!"

* * *

><p>'<em>See? He did it!' <em>Naruto grinned.

'_**Well, I didn't say he wouldn't be able to do it,' **_Kokuoh shrugged. _**'But still, that boy has an extraordinary mind for someone of his age. There aren't many people with that level of intelligence even in our Father's time, you know.'**_

Coming from the most knowledgeable being in the world, that statement is definitely extravagant.

'_**Pfff,' **_Goku laughed. _**'What good is being intelligent for if you don't have the power to back it up?'**_

'_**And that's the reason why you're just a stupid knucklehead,' **_Matatabi said dryly.

'_**Oy!'**_

A swirl of sand from right next to him made Naruto jump. Gaara had disappeared from the contestant box and was now standing on the battleground, even before Shikamaru and Temari managed to leave. He was now looking at Naruto with a bloodthirsty glare.

"Come down here Uzumaki… It's time…"

'_**Seems he's really eager to kill you now,' **_Isobu noted.

_'Yeah, thanks to a certain tanuki,' _Naruto deadpanned mentally. Shukaku just whistled innocently.

_'Well, there's no way to withdraw now…'_

He took a deep breath, and, after taking a final glance at the Kage booth, he jumped down to the arena.

Little did he know that his match would have to be postponed for a while.

* * *

><p>"I have to say, it was an interesting match."<p>

From the right of Sarutobi's seat, Mei spoke up. The old Hokage chuckled.

"Indeed. That boy is from the Nara clan, a family in our village which is famous for their intelligence and strategic mind. If I must say, the only weakness he has is his lazy attitude. He will become a great shinobi in the future, I dare say."

"That is not important right now," the Kazekage sitting on his left said. "The next match is the match between our Gaara and one of your genin. It will be much, much more interesting to see the jinchuriki of our village in action, don't you think so?"

Mei's eyes narrowed, but Hiruzen only laughed.

"You're true. That battle will be interesting. After all…" the old man's voice suddenly sharpened, "…this is also a very flashy and easy to realize flare to signal the beginning of your invasion, am I right?"

"What…?"

The man wearing the Kazekage's hat had to jump out of his seat down to the arena hastily when a red-and-white blur appeared above his head and slammed down hard at where he had been sitting just a second ago with two Rasengan on his hands.

"Hokage…" he snarled under the veil on his face, "what is the meaning of this?"

"I'm disappointed of you," the old Hokage also jumped down to the arena. He didn't smile any more. "Do you really think that killing a Kage, then dumping his body in the middle of a desert will allow you to replace him that easily? You have underestimated the ability of Konoha's spy network. It's time for you to remove that camouflage…" he threw away the white cloak and the hat, revealing his battle gear from under, "…and face your punishment, Orochimaru!"

* * *

><p><strong>Definition<strong>

**Lightning Style: Vibration Breaker**

**Classification: Ninjutsu**

**Rank: B**

**Class: Offensive, Defensive**

**Element: Lightning**

**Range: Close-range**

**Another ninjutsu developed by Sasuke Uchiha. By channelling lightning-element chakra into solid substance, the user can amplify the vibration of the molecules creating the substance to any level he wants, depending on his level of chakra. The resulting resonance will destroy the object from the inside. Sasuke can use this technique all around his body to escape from restraint, or channelling it from his fist to make a punch which shatters objects or deals considerable damage to his enemies, not unlike what the Legendary Sannin Tsunade can do. However, the drawback of this technique is the user has to touch what he wants to use the technique on.**

**Jet Step**

**Classification: Taijutsu, Chakra Control**

**Rank: C**

**Class: Support**

**Element: None**

**Range: Close to mid-range**

**A technique devised by Kakashi Hatake, taught to Sakura Haruno as one of her main battle techniques. This technique utilizes the chakra control of the user to release bursts of chakra from under the user's feet, creating an effect similar to jet engines. With this technique, the user can increase his movement speed, jump strength, kicking power, or even perform tricky maneuvers in midair where he cannot move freely without a base to stand on. This is an easy technique which every shinobi with training in chakra control can use.**

* * *

><p><strong>Yeah, this chapter might be a bit silly, I know.<strong>

**The final round started... and finished.**

**Sasuke got his revenge against Haku for the match on the bridge... although not without any trouble.**

**Sakura once again showed how badass she would be if she really had a goal, and if she really put her head on her training.**

**And Shikamaru... still smart and lazy as usual.**

**What will happen this time, when Jiraiya and Sarutobi are the one who had the initiative?**

**What will happen to Gaara and Naruto?**

**Find out in the next chapter!**

**Review please!**


	16. Chapter 16: Battle of the Legends!

**Sorry, I got lost on the road of life!**

**No, seriously. I'm not kidding. Life after graduation is busy as hell, especially now that I have to find a job.**

**But finally, this chapter was completed. Enjoy!**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 16: Battle of the Legends!<strong>

The man in front of them ripped his veil and hat off his head, revealing a face most people didn't realize.

Auburn hair. Dark eyes. Stern expression.

Black jacket under the Kazekage cloak.

Yep, definitely the Fourth Kazekage under the camouflage.

Creepy silence ensued.

"Well, that's… embarrassing," Sarutobi said awkwardly.

"No, sensei."

Jiraiya landed next to his teacher. The Sannin's hostility didn't change, and both the Great Toad Sages on his shoulders also shared the same expression on their faces.

"That is indeed the Fourth Kazekage. But look at his face."

Sarutobi looked, and realized. That face was of the Kazekage, he knew it, but there was something different. The skin was paler and grayer than he remembered it to be, and it was full of cracks.

"So, he was dead after all, and was revived with the Impure World Reincarnation… How low could you be, Orochimaru?"

Orochimaru crawled out of the ground while laughing creepily like a snake. He stuck his hand into the back of the Kazekage's head, and immediately, the eyes of the corpse lost all of their life.

"Kukuku… so you saw through my jutsu, Sarutobi-sensei. You definitely live up to the title God of Shinobi."

"Orochimaru…"

From behind the Hokage, Jiraiya growled and started to leap at his old teammate, but the arm of Hiruzen raised in front of him stopped him on his track.

"What is your purpose, Orochimaru?" the old Hokage asked in a sharp voice. "Trying an attack right in the middle of Konoha like this… when all the best shinobi of the village are gathering here… Are you trying to suicide?"

"Suicide?" the snake man laughed. "You're overestimating yourself too much, sensei. Do you really think I'm here without any preparation? After all… the reason I'm here today is to kill you, and to erase Konoha from the map!"

"Hey jiji, Pervy Sage!" From the center of the arena, the voice of Naruto echoed through the air. "What the heck is going on here?"

Then the boy saw Orochimaru. "Ah! You're that gay pedophile who tried to take Sasuke's virginity in the forest!"

Silence again.

Many men in the stadium, including Kakashi, made gags of disgust.

From the contestant's box, everyone turned to look at Sasuke.

"If you continue looking at me like that, I'll kill all of you," grumbled the Uchiha.

"Damn it!" protested Orochimaru, who was now fuming in rage. "I told you I'm not a gay pedophile! I just want his body!"

"Case in point; objection overruled," Naruto deadpanned.

"…I can't believe you would even stoop to the level of a rapist, Orochimaru," Hiruzen and Jiraiya facepalmed.

"Oh come on!"

Had there not been a war going on, it would have been rather funny to see Orochimaru stomping his feet on the ground like a pouting kid while explosions and screams were echoing behind him.

* * *

><p>"What's happening, Baki-sensei?" From a far corner of the stand, Kankuro whispered.<p>

Baki grimaced. As the Jonin Commander of Sunagakure, he was entrusted with the role of the commander for all Sunagakure force during the invasion. Of course he knew Orochimaru and Otogakure were going to work together with them during the operation.

But this? He'd never heard about this in any tactical meetings of the two villages before.

_Impure World Reincarnation? Isn't that the jutsu Lady Chiyo had told me about…?_

Just what in the world is going on here…?

"Inform the whole force of Sunagakure to hold their position and not to do anything until further command," he ordered in the same whispering volume, and Kankuro's eyes widened.

"What? But…"

"Just do what I said."

He was defying the will of the Kazekage, but there was no other choice. For now, the best option for him was to hold back to see what would happen.

* * *

><p>Gaara was pissed beyond belief.<p>

He has been waiting for so long for this. This is the day when he will kill Uzumaki, and feed his blood to Mother, to prove his existence!

And right before his match could begin…

Sand poured out from Gaara's gourd and started covering his body. No one, even Orochimaru and his father, can take his prey from him!

"Uh oh," Naruto muttered. "Gaara is mad."

"What's going on here? What is happening to him?" Sasuke, who had just arrived next to Naruto, asked worriedly when he saw the sand twisting up on Gaara's arms and face, forming grotesque limbs on them.

"Kukuku… Sasuke-kun…" Orochimaru chuckled madly. "Finally, this is my chance… Prepare to accept your gi-guh."

His speech was cut off abruptly as Hiruzen's Adamantine Staff smashed into his face.

The old Hokage slammed his staff down in front of Sasuke and Naruto. From behind, with the aura of power blazing around him, he looked like a war god ready to charge into battle. Well, that's not an exaggeration, considering he had been named the God of Shinobi for half of his life.

"Genin Naruto Uzumaki and Sasuke Uchiha," he said, his voice booming with authority, "the Chuunin Exam is now officially over. From now on, this will be a war. And this will be your first S-rank mission, ordered by the Hokage himself: Take the jinchuriki of Suna over there away from the village and subdue him!"

Sasuke's eyes gleamed when he heard the words "S-rank mission". But Naruto protested.

"But jiji, I want to be here to help you and Pervy Sage! We defeated that rapist once before!"

Jiraiya stared at Orochimaru. "Am I hearing right? You're defeated by a bunch of newly graduated genin?"

Orochimaru grinned evilly. "I have to admit, I underestimated them there. But this time, it is different; I have prepared everything for this!"

From behind him, Gaara howled madly while Orochimaru started making hand signs.

"Oh no you don't!" Jiraiya shouted when he realized what Orochimaru wanted to do. He leapt at the Snake Sannin with a quick Body Flicker and a Great Ball Rasengan on his hand, and Orochimaru had to halt his hand seals and jumped away from the deadly sphere when it drilled into the ground under him, making a rather large crater.

"Still annoying as ever…" the snake man hissed. "Ten Thousand Snakes Formation!"

A tsunami of snakes burst out from Orochimaru's mouth and raged towards Jiraiya. The Toad Sage cursed and jumped back, but the snakes continued to stream after him and at the same time, rush towards his allies too.

"Go, you two! There is no time!" Hiruzen yelled, while swatting away a bunch of snakes with his enlarged staff.

"But…"

"Oh, just go, will you?"

Naruto could only scream when a hand grabbed his collar from behind and threw him to the sky, over the walls of the stadium. Gaara snarled and leapt after him, with Sasuke following right behind.

The remaining people in the battleground, Orochimaru included, gaped at Mei, who had just thrown the blonde boy away.

"What are you doing here, Lady Mizukage?" The Hokage was the one who spoke up first. "This is going to be a battlefield! Please go evacuate…"

"Ara," Mei chuckled in amusement while spitting out a huge blob of burning lava, which covered the ground and melted a majority of the snakes. "I just think I might provide Konohagakure with some help. After all, today is the day Kirigakure and Konohagakure become allies, isn't it? But I think we will have to worry about those more than arguing about something that trivial," she said while pointing at where Orochimaru was standing.

In front of him, two coffins were erected from underground. They cracked opened, revealing the contents inside…

The First Hokage.

And the Second Hokage.

"Shit, we're too late," Sarutobi growled bitterly.

"Well, at least he didn't manage to summon Minato," Jiraiya muttered.

* * *

><p>Chaos had broken out in the stadium since Orochimaru appeared.<p>

Screams of the civilians filled the air. The stands were suddenly full of people running around like a herd of ducks.

Well, cannot blame them, as the one who had just appeared was the man who's called the bogeyman of Konohagakure. The fact that a few dozens of evil ninja wearing music-note headbands, armed with deadly weapons, were now jumping at them to cut their throats didn't help a bit, either.

"Damn! This is going nowhere! If they continue running around like that, there's no way we can fight!" Gai grumbled in irritation when he drilled a Sound ninja into the wall to prevent him from killing a civilian.

Kakashi grimaced while swatting away his own assailant with a kick. _It's true… Having civilians in the middle of a battle like this is very disadvantageous for us… We'll need to stop all the civilians…_

"Asuma! Cover me for a while!" he barked. The bearded jonin blinked.

"What for?"

"This! And get ready to dispel a genjutsu! Nirvana Temple Jutsu!"

Immediately, everyone saw feathers falling down from the air around them. All the civilians slumped down on their place and fell into a deep sleep, while the shinobi realized the technique immediately and dispelled it easily.

Unfortunately, that also applied for the enemy shinobi.

"Ha! So Copy Ninja Kakashi is only a pathetic fool!" an Oto ninja sneered after dispelling Kakashi's genjutsu. He pulled out his weapon – a rather short but very sharp tanto – and charged at Kakashi.

…only for his body to be cut in half under the blade of a giant zanbato.

Zabuza slammed his sword on the concrete ground of the stand and smirked.

"Seems you need a hand, Kakashi."

"I don't remember asking for your help, Zabuza," Kakashi chuckled in amusement. Zabuza snorted.

"I wouldn't even bother had it not been Mei-sama's order. After all, you're still the enemy I dislike the most."

"Yosh! Another eternal rival has appeared!" Gai hollered from the background, and Zabuza cringed in horror. Kakashi shook his head.

"Well, it's not like we won't appreciate helps when we're in a war like this, so…" he stood up, and grabbed the discarded tanto of the dead Oto ninja. It's not like he would need it anymore, anyway, "…let's finish this up quick, so that we can go and help our leaders over there," he looked at the battleground, now covered by a purple wall which had just burnt an ANBU member to cinder.

"Wait, isn't that…" Asuma's eyes narrowed, "…the First and the Second? How did they…?"

"Could it be… Is that the infamous Impure World Reincarnation Jutsu of the Second?" Kurenai also exclaimed.

Zabuza grinned. "More reasons to settle this quickly, then. Haku, Shiro, Chojuro! It's time to show the power of Kirigakure to our enemies!"

"Yes sir!"

And with that, Konohagakure and Kirigakure once again charged into battle.

But this time, they're together.

* * *

><p>"Even without Minato, this is not gonna be good for us."<p>

The Third Hokage muttered while glancing at the four people standing at the other end of the field.

And he had a very good reason to worry. The four people standing there can surely be considered the four most powerful people in the whole Elemental Continent, period.

The First Hokage, the legendary shinobi who had founded Konohagakure and fought on par with another legendary ninja, Madara Uchiha, in the past. Master of the Wood Style, one of the only techniques with the power to subdue even Tailed Beasts. And unknown to most people, the jinchuriki of the Six-Tailed Slug.

The Second Hokage, the man who was known all around the Elemental Continent as "The Inventor", who had developed many jutsu and legendary weapons which were all sought after by shinobi all over the continent, including many kinjutsu such as the Shadow Clone, the Impure World Reincarnation, and even the Fourth Hokage's infamous Flying Thunder God Jutsu. And he was also a master of Water Element, no less.

The Fourth Kazekage, the most talented student of the legendary Third Kazekage, who was said to be able to develop the power of the Magnet Style to the point it can affect any types of metal, including **gold**. And many people said that he could create gold dust from nowhere to use as weapon, too. His power over the Magnet Style was so great he could subdue the One-Tailed Tanuki, Shukaku, alone by himself, with the beast's own element.

And… there was Orochimaru, too.

Considering the balance of force, of course Team Hiruzen was having a clear disadvantage in number.

"Scared already, sensei?" Orochimaru cackled. "You'd better be, because I have perfected this jutsu to the point the Second Hokage couldn't even reach! By using good bodies enhanced with the First Hokage's DNA, I was able to bring them back at their near full power! Now…" he pulled out three kunai tagged with some strange talismans, and stabbed them into the head of each Kage, "…get ready… to be killed by your own teachers, sensei… Kukuku…"

Yeah, that's not helping them in any way, either.

But it doesn't mean the old Hokage hadn't got any ace up his sleeve.

Thanks to Naruto, Sarutobi had already known in advance that Orochimaru and his subordinate, Kabuto, were able to use the cursed Reanimation technique, and he had spent all the last two months to find a way to counter it.

It didn't help much, though. The technique developed by Tobirama Senju is one of the most perfect jutsu ever created. The jutsu bring back the dead with all the power they had during their life, albeit weaker than the original would be… or not, if what Orochimaru had just said could be trusted. Even if the caster is dead, the jutsu will not end.

The technique can only be stopped if the caster decides to end it himself… which is definitely out of the question right now… or if the reincarnated one found closure in his heart, such as seeing the dream of his life fulfilled, the one he loved admitting her feeling to him, etc etc. There is still the case that the reincarnated breaks free of the summoning by using special hand seals… but if the reincarnated's personalities are completely erased, like Orochimaru's doing right now, there is no way those will work.

"I don't get it," the old man gritted his teeth. "You and Suna are allies in this, we all know it. So why did you kill the Kazekage?"

"Surprised, eh my dear sensei?" Orochimaru grinned wickedly. "That man was a pain to kill. Even when I ambushed him, he still put up a good struggle. A man that powerful cannot be left alive, if I want to succeed. After all, a puppet fully under my control is much better than a person who can think for himself, am I right? Hahaha!"

Blood in the old Hokage's veins seemed to boil when he heard those words. He turned back to his two fellow shinobi and said.

"Jiraiya, Lady Mizukage, I expect you to be ready to go all out in this battle. After all, this might be the hardest fight in all your life… or even mine."

That was rude, coming from the Hokage, but the Mizukage only smiled.

"Of course I understand, Lord Hokage. After all… it is a rare opportunity to fight side by side with the most powerful Kage of the Elemental Countries against legendary figures of all time like this, right?"

"You don't have to worry about me either, Sensei," Jiraiya also grinned. "The Legendary Gallant Jiraiya, Toad Sage of Mount Myoboku, is always ready for everything!" He slammed his sandals on the ground, striking his trademark kabuki pose.

"That is not a proper behavior for a Sage, Jiraiya-kun," From his right shoulder, Lady Shima, one of the Great Sages of Mount Myoboku scolded him.

"Then…" Hiruzen smiled, and throwing his Adamantine Staff up, he flashed through hand seals. "Fire Style: Dragon Flame Bullet!"

A dragon-shaped inferno blasted out from the old Hokage's mouth and flew towards his four enemies, eradicating all the remaining snakes on the ground, signaling the beginning of the battle of legends.

* * *

><p>Baki gritted his teeth in rage. His hands curled into fists.<p>

What he had expected was true. Orochimaru had admitted it. And those signs on the Kazekage… the blank eyes, the cracks on the face… everything fit what Lady Chiyo had described about people resurrected by that wicked jutsu.

"Kankuro, take Temari and follow Gaara. Retrieve him, and then, Sunagakure will assist Konohagakure in the fight."

"What? Sensei, but…"

"Do it. Now."

Kankuro froze when he saw his sensei's eyes. He nodded, and jumped away to where Temari was.

Alone once again, the Jonin Commander of Sunagakure glared at the barrier for the last time and blurred away.

Orochimaru is going to pay.

* * *

><p>"Sasuke, can you do me a favour?"<p>

Sasuke turned to his blonde partner, his eyebrow raised. "What?"

Naruto looked into his friend's Sharingan. "When we fight Gaara, can you please don't kill him?"

Sasuke nearly lost his balance when his left foot slipped off a branch he was stepping on.

"What do you mean Naruto? That boy is crazy! He's trying to kill us… kill** you**, if you don't remember! Why shouldn't we kill him when we have the chance?"

"Because he's a jinchuriki, just like me," Naruto mumbled. "But at the same time, he's not like me. Do you remember when we first met him? Even his teammates were scared of him. He is hated and feared by everyone around him… just like I used to be. But then I got people around me who love me and treat me like a normal person… Jiji, Iruka-sensei, Pervy Sage, Kakashi-sensei, Sakura… and you," he glanced at Sasuke. "But I can bet my life that Gaara doesn't have anyone like that in his life; that's why he becomes such a crazy person like he is now. I want to talk to him, to give him a chance to change his life… Please Sasuke…"

The two boys didn't say anything to each other in thirty seconds. At the thirty-first, Sasuke shook his head.

"You're hopelessly naïve, Naruto. I wonder how you have survived in this world for so long… Very well, I will hold back, but if things start going wrong, I will not promise anything."

'_**That brat… Who does he think he is? Naruto has lived in this world for much longer than he is!' **_Goku snorted.

'_**Not quite "this world", you know,' **_Chomei piped in.

'_**I agree,' **_Isobu added in bitterly. _**'No matter how good he became, he's still forever an Uchiha. There are things which will never change.'**_

'_That's kinda mean…' _Naruto defended his friend. Kurama snorted.

'_**Whatever. I still don't trust him. You already knew what all the Uchiha we have met in our lives were. They're all crazy in some ways.'**_

Naruto winced. That was the truth; all the people with the family name of Uchiha he had met in his life seemed to have some problems with their heads. Even the good guy like Itachi.

'_Don't worry, Sasuke will not become like that,' _he insisted. _'I managed to change him once; I will be able to do it again.'_

* * *

><p>The ones holding the Kage titles are always the strongest of each village. They are ninja with power beyond belief who were acknowledged by everyone to be their leaders, who used their talent and power to lead the villages to victory and prosperity. They are the ones who reached incredible achievements during their lives. They are legends.<p>

However, that doesn't mean they're totally unstoppable. Especially when their enemies are also living legends.

And it was true for both sides of the battle at the moment.

Hiruzen Sarutobi was a 68 year old man, meaning he's not at his prime. But right now, he was holding himself very well against not one, but **three**, deceased Kage, two of whom were his teachers. Well, he had the assistance of two other Kage-level shinobi though, but there is an undeniable fact that if he had been about twenty years younger, he would have been able to fight all of them alone, and possibly win.

WHAM!

Yeah, like that.

The three zombie Kage were smacked away when the Adamantine Staff expanded to its gigantic size and swept at their heads with a force which shook the whole stadium with only the movement of the staff. They jumped up to avoid the swing, but the giant staff still managed to hit them at the stomach.

Even if you are zombies, being hit by a staff with the power to knock _Kurama_down to the ground will still hurt like a bitch. Hashirama and Tobirama's lower bodies were completely cut off from the waist down, while the only remaining part of the Fourth Kazekage was his head. Dirt immediately crawled up and remade the body quickly, and five seconds later, the three zombies returned, good as new.

"As I thought, power alone will not work…" Sarutobi mumbled.

"**Wood Style: Deep Forest Emergence."**

The ground cracked apart, and trees creeped out from the fissures and covered the whole battleground in Hashirama's command. In just three seconds, the field had become a whole jungle.

_Damn it, _the three members of Team Hiruzen cursed under their breath. Having the battle terrain changed is a big disadvantage for ninja. Especially when the new terrain is one their enemy is a master of.

Then their eyes widened when Tobirama disappeared in a white flash.

_Son of a bitch._

Flying Thunder God Jutsu. One of the most dangerous ninjutsu the Second Hokage had ever created. The jutsu which gave Minato Namikaze, the boogeyman of Iwagakure, the infamous alias of "The Yellow Flash of Konohagakure", and the title of the fastest man ever.

Had it not been for Jiraiya's super enhanced reflex and speed which allowed him to react incredibly fast, Mei would have been stabbed to death from behind by the kunai on Tobirama's hand.

"The seals are all on the branches of the trees! If we stay here we will not be able to hold it!" Hiruzen shouted while rolling on the wooden surface to dodge another slash from Tobirama, who had just appeared beside him with another flash. He only needed a quick glance to figure out their situation.

But the brutal assault didn't just stop there.

"**Wood Style: Deep Forest Bloom."**

Giant flowers started popping out of the branches. They burst open, and covered the air with yellow pollen.

Naturally, no one wanted to know what that pollen might do.

"Earth Style: Mud Wall!" Hiruzen bellowed, and a tall obelisk made of hard mud burst out of the ground, pushing the three ninja to the sky far above the range of the pollen cloud.

"Everyone get behind me!" Jiraiya bellowed, and clapped his hands together. "Ma, Pa, let's do it!"

"Right!" The two Great Toad Sages chorused. "Let's give those zombies a deep fry of their life! Sage Art: Goemon!"

Oil, wind and fire erupted from the Sages' mouths, and in just an instance, the whole battlefield became a sea of flame. Enhanced by nature energy, the power of the jutsu was so great all the giant trees created by Hashirama's power were burnt to cinder in a blink of an eye, and together with it, the pollen. Even on top of the thick and tall Mud Wall formed by Hiruzen, the heat of the fire was still so incredible it made Hiruzen and Mei sweat bullets.

"Incredible! So that is the power of Jiraiya-sama's Sage Mode!" One of the ANBU outside the barrier exclaimed.

I rest my case; ANBU members, without a name given, are just useless.

Seriously, don't you guys have anything better to do than just sitting there and staring at a barrier?

"**Water Style: Water Dragons Dance."**

With just one simple hand sign, the powerful water jutsu exploded from thin air around Tobirama in the form of ten huge dragons made of water. The serpentine creatures clashed against the raging flame, making a loud screeching noise which sounded like a hiss of a giant boa.

Usually, a flame boosted by a sea of oil will not be able to be extinguished by water alone. It will just spread even further as oil doesn't dissolve in water.

But Tobirama Senju is not called the Ultimate Master of Water Style for nothing. He could do many unbelievable things with Water jutsu no one could even dream about. After a few seconds, the flame gave in, leaving a huge cloud of steam covering the whole area inside the barrier.

"Tch…" Jiraiya clicked his tongue in annoyance. He had managed to destroy the trees created by the First, but he still couldn't land a hit to Orochimaru and his minions.

"Jiraiya-sama, get up here quick!"

Mei's voice boomed, and Jiraiya understood what was going to happen immediately. He kicked the ground hard and leapt into the air right before Mei completed her series of hand signs.

"Vapour Style: Solid Fog Jutsu!"

And he shuddered when he saw all the steam covering the ground turning into very strong acidic gas under the Mizukage's command.

Gas, unlike other substances, is intangible. Therefore, it can spread anywhere it is able to, passing everything on its way. And being a cloud of acid, it becomes an incredibly destructive weapon which is able to melt mostly everything. Even the earth wall they're standing on was also starting to rot.

Had Jiraiya been one second slower, he would have been turned into a pile of meat goop.

The Mud Wall crumbled, and the three shinobi landed safely on the ground after Mei canceled her jutsu.

"That was a big shot," commented Jiraiya with a glance at the female Kage.

"Yeah, but it's still not enough," grimaced Sarutobi, who was staring at something in front of them with an alarmed look on his face.

"Yeah," Mei agreed. "There is no way it can be that easy, ne?"

Within their sights now, there was a dome made of pure, solid gold hiding Orochimaru and the three zombies inside. Because of gold's immunity to normal chemical reactions, the acidic cloud couldn't eat through the barrier.

The special jutsu of the Fourth Kazekage, utilizing gold dust and manipulating them through his Magnet Style chakra…

The weight of gold dust is much, much higher than sand, even more than iron. Thus, it costs a very large amount of chakra just to move it around. And it's rare too; therefore it is unable to be carried around in large quantity like sand or iron. Yet, despite those disadvantages, the Fourth Kazekage managed to pull a very large amount from the underground in each of his battle, and manipulate it with magnetic chakra, and even use it as his main weapon. It is not exaggerating when people called him the Master of Magnet, even surpassing his mentor and predecessor, the Third Kazekage.

The gold barrier crumbled into dust again. But before anyone could do anything, the dead Kazekage had slammed his hands to the ground, and from under it, golden sand crept up, covering the whole surface.

"Oh that's not good…"

Everyone of Team Hiruzen had to scramble away like mad when tendrils of gold burst out from the ground following each step they took.

"Summoning Jutsu! Ken, give us a lift!"

The sasumata-wielding toad, Gamaken, appeared in a large puff of smoke, and immediately leapt to the sky before Jiraiya announced his next jutsu.

"Earth Style: Swamp of the Underworld!"

The ground suddenly turned into a giant, black swamp under Orochimaru and the three zombie Kage's feet. All the gold dust brought up by the Kazekage disappeared into the swamp, unable to be brought up again. And the four enemy shinobi also sank into the deadly mud, and were completely submerged before Jiraiya canceled the jutsu and returned the ground to its original state.

"There, that should keep them in place for a while…"

The four enemies appeared in front of them in a white flash.

"Great, me and my big mouth…" Jiraiya groaned.

* * *

><p>The first thing Sakura knew when she woke up was that her whole body was numb.<p>

She groggily opened her eyes. Facing her was the white ceiling of the hospital. She could sense the warm feeling of bandages wrapping around her upper body, and on her left arm. It seems her injuries were worse than she thought. And her body felt completely drained.

_Oh yeah… the battle… _

A throbbing pain in her chest made her wince.

The effort she had made during the fight had nearly killed her. Right now, the pain was not as much as it had been before, but she couldn't feel chakra in her body anymore. Right now, the only thing she was feeling was a dull numbness.

She pushed herself up by her right arm and sighed. The Chuunin Exam is over for her. There goes her chance to become chuunin, and her chance to prove it to Sasuke-kun that she is not worthless…

Then very clearly, she heard a loud crashing noise outside of the curtain separating her bed with other beds in the room.

Her reflex, honed to the maximum level possible by Anko through sheer brutality for a whole month in the Forest of Death, made her body react immediately, and she was jumping out of her bed even before she even realized what she was doing.

And what she saw didn't amuse her a little bit.

"Hey, what are you doing to Hinata?"

From across the room, at Hinata's bed, Karin was standing there; her hands were just an inch from removing Hinata's oxygen mask from her face.

"Tch-" the redhead clicked her tongue in annoyance.

"What are you trying to do to Hinata?" Sakura repeated, more slowly and clearly than before. She was starting to have a bad feeling about this.

"Isn't it obvious?" Karin answered her with a wicked grin. "I'm going to bring that Hyuuga girl back to Orochimaru-sama."

Sakura's stomach froze up with those words. She gritted her teeth.

"So… you work for Orochimaru…"

"Got there at last, have you?" Karin taunted.

Right on cue, explosions and screams rang outside the hospital's walls.

"The invasion is starting. Soon they will come here and crush everything, just as Orochimaru-sama wants," Karin looked at the windows next to Sakura's head, where a cloud of smoke was rising across. "When I bring this Hyuuga girl to Orochimaru-sama, he will honor me beyond anything in my dreams…"

"I will not let you do anything you want!" Sakura growled, her working arm lowered into her battle stance. Karin smirked.

"How are you going to do it anyway? Your body is full of injuries, and you have no chakra left. With that pitiful body, you want to face me? Ha! Face it; there is no way you can do anything!"

"We won't know until I try!"

Speaking strong like that, but Sakura also knew she had no chance. The redhead was right; no need for special eyes or anything, just having a glance over her body right now was enough to see what a mess it was. Broken arm, broken ribs, concussion over the head, and chakra exhaustion… Right now, Sakura was even worse than a normal civilian. And she had to face a well-rested, fully-powered ninja.

Right at that time, the windows next to her were smashed to bits, and three more shadows jumped into the room.

Yeah, screw that, it's against four well-rested, fully powered ninja now. She's dead.

"Oh, you guys are right in time. Now, help me kill that pink-haired bitch, and we'll bring this Hyuuga back to Orochimaru-sama," Karin grinned at Kin, Dosu and Zaku.

_Damn it. What do I do now…?_

* * *

><p>Konohagakure was in total chaos.<p>

The force of Otogakure, even without support from Sunagakure, was still huge in number. Right now, they were swarming into Konoha from every direction, with backup from giant snakes with multiple heads spawning from nowhere. Screams, explosions and sounds of weapons colliding against each other rang, making a strange orchestra in the air.

Hiashi Hyuuga calmly swatted a dozen of Oto-nin surrounding him away with a Rotation. "The Hyuuga clan is the strongest of Konohagakure; you should remember this."

Another loud explosion shook the ground under his feet.

"The hospital is being attacked! If the medics are killed or incapacitated, we will be in an extreme disadvantage!" Some random Konoha shinobi yelled from afar.

_Hospital._

Hiashi's brain went numb when he heard that exact word.

_No… Hinata!_

He made a dash towards the direction of the hospital, but a battalion of Oto-nin suddenly appeared from nowhere and blocked his way.

"Get out of my way!" The Hyuuga clan head bellowed and sent the wall of enemies flying with an overpowered Vacuum Palm, but more and more enemies continued assaulting him from every direction with weapons and jutsu, making him stop dead on his track without any way to advance.

_Damn it… _Hiashi bit his lips in anger and fear. It's rare to see the calm and stoic Hyuuga clan head expressing so much emotion. _If something happens to Hinata… then I…_

"Super Expansion Jutsu!"

A gigantic foot slammed down in front of Hiashi and crushed half of the army in front of him, making him jump in the process.

From above, Choza Akimichi was looking down on him in his giant form.

"Go help your daughter, Hyuuga-dono! We will take care of those cannon fodders!"

Normally, the pride of the great Hyuuga clan won't allow Hiashi to accept this. But right now, there was nothing in the world which could make him more grateful.

"Thank you, Akimichi-dono!"

When the Hyuuga patriarch had gone, the Akimichi clan head turned back to his opponents.

"Just like old time, eh, you two?"

Inoichi Yamanaki smirked. "Of course. Though someone over there might think this to be a drag after all…"

"Come on," Shikaku Nara sighed. "I'm not that bad…"

"You are," the two other members of the original Ino-Shika-Cho team deadpanned.

"Haaa…" the Nara clan head could only sigh again. "This is so troublesome…"

And with that, the famous trio of Konohagakure charged into battle.

* * *

><p>"Iruka-senpai! The village is under attack!"<p>

Iruka jerked his head up from the book he was reading to the students in shock when the door to the classroom burst open as another teacher ran into the room.

"What? How? Who was the attacker?"

"It's Otogakure, senpai! They started the assault during the final round of the Chuunin Exam!"

Iruka immediately put away the book he was holding and called the children in the room, who were all wide-eyed in fear and surprise.

"Everyone! This is an emergency situation! Abandon everything you're doing and follow me to the shelter immediately!"

Then he turned back to his fellow Chuunin when the children poured out of the room. "You too! Go to other classes and tell the other to evacuate now!"

"I have alerted everyone else, senpai! There is only your class left in… Gah!"

The chuunin screamed and stumbled back when a shuriken nailed his right shoulder, and Iruka snapped his head back to find a group of Otogakure ninja standing in the corridor. Each of them must be chuunin at least.

"Man, I was hoping we would get to slaughter people when we were assigned to attack this place, but what we found is just a bunch of children and two useless chuunin!" One of the newly appeared gang complained.

"Well, we can always kill them instead, then go for that 'shelter' he said," another one sneered in a lecherous tone. "I bet there will be many women there too…"

"Less talking, more killing, you fools!" The leader of the band snarled, and he, together with two other Sound shinobi leapt forward, ready to kill the two men and the children behind them.

... except they couldn't ever move again. Three very precise shuriken had embedded themselves into their throats, killing them instantly.

"Hey, hey, what the hell is this?" the Oto ninja stammered when sealing arrays started spreading from Iruka's feet, covering the ground and crawling up the wall, locking them inside.

"Can you still walk?" the scarred chuunin looked at his injured comrade and whispered. "If you can, please bring the children to safety immediately. I will hold them back."

"But… Iruka-senpai! That's just…"

The young chuunin stopped his words abruptedly when he saw his subordinate's eyes. He nodded quietly, and signaling for the children to follow him.

"Damn it! You killed our captain! We'll skin all of you alive!" one of the Oto ninja screamed. He leapt at Iruka with a kunai on his hand, only to be blocked with another kunai on his opponent's hand.

The Oto nin was thrown away by a brutal kick in his navel.

"You're not going anywhere," the scarred teacher said coldly. There was no trace of his usual smile on his face anymore; right now, that same face didn't show any sign of anger, but they could still feel the burning fury flowing out from his body.

"Oh yeah? And what are you going to do? You're saying that you will defeat us all by yourself? Oh Kami, that's so humorous!" The band of enemy ninja laughed loudly. Iruka answered him by pulling out another kunai, and wielded both on his hands like a pair of twin swords.

"We'll see about that soon. But you'd better pick a god and pray, because anyone who tries to attack my village, threatens my students… I will not forgive!"

* * *

><p>The battle of the legendary ninjas inside the barrier was becoming more and more brutal.<p>

Right now, Jiraiya was engaging in battle with Orochimaru, who was holding the Kusanagi, the sharpest sword in the world, on his hand, and would have lopped Jiraiya's and the two Sages' heads with a nasty swing had the Toad Sage not dodged in time thanks to the incredible reflex enhancement of his Sage Mode.

"You're still as annoying as ever, Jiraiya," the snake man hissed. "Why don't you just give up and die?"

"You're the one who should give up, Orochimaru," Jiraiya snarled back. "Today you'll die, and no immortality jutsu will be able to help you survive!"

He threw a fast punch at Orochimaru. The punch, enhanced with nature chakra, was not only much more powerful, but also cannot be avoided. And Orochimaru, who got a lot of knowledge about Senjutsu, knew better than trying to dodge it. He hastily spat out a new body right before the devastating punch landed on his former body. The force of the deadly fist obliterated the snake Sannin's former body, leaving a trail of destruction on the branches he was standing on, created by the zombie First Hokage.

"You're still a fool as usual," Even when facing such destructive power, the rogue Sannin still managed to taunt. "Even with all the power you have now, you will never defeat me. I've gone further than anyone along the way to immortality. And now, as long as I have those legendary puppets of mine under my control, what chance does you, a fool and an old senile man, hope to have against me?"

Jiraiya gritted his teeth. He didn't want to admit it, but the point Orochimaru had just made was too obviously true. Right now, his sensei and the Mizukage were struggling against the three zombies. Although they're still holding their ground, soon they wouldn't be able to keep up with the pace.

A kick from the flashing Tobirama to Sarutobi's back made him skid on the ground a few feet. The old man leapt up his feet immediately, but anyone could see that he was starting to get low of energy.

But there was a reason why Hiruzen Sarutobi held the title of the God of Shinobi following Hashirama Senju, and was known through the Elemental Countries as the Professor. His intelligence surpasses any Nara of the Hidden Leaf Village, and his knowledge about jutsu is more than anyone in the whole continent, to the point that Orochimaru himself had to praise him about it. He is the only one in the whole Konohagakure to know **all** the jutsu of the village, and is the only person **in the whole world** who can use all five elements of chakra proficiently and effectively without the help of a Rinnegan, or any similar kekkei genkai. During his prime, he has never lost even once.

Had he got the incredible chakra and stamina of Naruto, and been younger about ten years, he would be the person who was closest in power to the Sage of Six Paths himself.

_This might be dangerous, but… _

The old Hokage crossed his arms in front of his face to block another punch from Hashirama, and at the same time…

"Fifth Gate... Gate of Pain, OPEN!"

The air exploded with an incredible burst of chakra, throwing the three zombies off their feet. Even Mei, who was standing afar to support with long-ranged attacks, could feel a strong push to her body which nearly made her lost her balance. She stared in awe at the Hokage, who was glowing red due to the effect of his third Chakra Gate opening.

"That's Gai's special technique, the Eight Gates technique!" one of the ANBU watching the battle exclaimed.

Sure, just stay there and be commentators instead of doing something useful, will you?

"Dragon Fist!"

With an unexpectably fast movement, Hiruzen blurred from view and appeared once again in front of the two deceased Hokage and drilled a double-handed punch into the two zombies' stomachs. The friction with the air was so great it made his hands look like catching fire, in the shape of two flame dragons. Tobirama managed to flash away so that the punch just scratched across his arm, but Hashirama took the full blow of the Fifth Gate-enhanced punch and flew away like a ragdoll, his body skidded on the ground. A rather large hole was drilled through the fake body of the dead God of Shinobi. But he flipped on his feet immediately when Tobirama appeared again besides him, his right arm shattered. The big wounds were also starting to heal very fast.

Then the bodies of the two corpses exploded violently. It turned out that when the punches landed, Sarutobi managed to slip a few exploding tags into their armors.

When the smoke from the explosion cleared, the two dead Hokage were only two decapitated heads on the ground.

"Why does everyone in this village like explosion so much anyway?" From outside the barrier, Haku wondered.

"Uh… Maybe… because art is a blast?" Chojuro answered hesitantly.

00000

"YOOOOOOOUUUUUUTH!"

A blonde man who looked suspiciously like a woman suddenly pumped his fist and screamed to the sky.

"What the hell are you doing?" His partner, a man dressed in something looking like a robot, grumbled. The blonde just pointed at him with a smirk.

"Ha! In your face, Sasori-danna! Someone in this world has realized the beauty of my art!"

"Idiot…" the puppet man just sighed.

00000

_No… still not enough…_

Even without the vast knowledge of his teacher about jutsu, Jiraiya knew. People resurrected by this technique cannot be killed by normal means. Even if the body was blown to smithereen, it's only a matter of time before they recovered.

What he didn't understand was why his sensei continued to charge at the two bodiless regenerating heads and brought his gigantic staff down at them.

But before the old man could smash the two heads to pulp, a huge slab of metal from the ground suddenly slammed into his body, throwing him away. The dead Kazekage had abandoned his fight with Mei and changed his target to the old Hokage.

"You see that? No matter how hard you try, you and the old man will never be able to beat me," Orochimaru continued gloating in glee. "Now die!"

He launched another deadly slash at Jiraiya, but this time, the Toad Sage had anticipated the move and jumped aside before the slash could connect. He retreated back to his teacher, who had now regained his balance.

"This is hopeless," the Sage grimaced. "No matter how hard we fight, they just come back! It's just like we're running in circle! There is no way to finish them without completely removing their souls from the bodies!"

By "removing their souls", Jiraiya was talking about their final trump card, the Reaper Death Seal, or Dead Demon Consuming Seal, as some people preferred to call it as. The two of them had discussed about ways to stop the resurrection jutsu when they heard from Naruto that Orochimaru and his subordinate Kabuto could use it, and had agreed that the forbidden sealing jutsu would only be used as a last resort when everything else failed.

"And you should remember, that jutsu will kill us after you use it."

Jiraiya frowned. "I know, but there's no other choice! If it continues like this, we're all going to be killed without being able to do anything! Even you have to resort to the Eight Gates now, don't you see? Your body won't be able to make it!"

"I know," the Hokage answered calmly with a slight smirk. "And I already had a plan. This time, none of us will die here, and we'll stop Orochimaru together."

Jiraiya's eyes widened.

* * *

><p>"Wait a sec. I feel something."<p>

Naruto's steps suddenly slowed down.

"I feel some hostile signatures coming towards us! Ten… no, even more! Very fast! And they're…"

Fifteen Sound shinobi dropped down on the trees around the two boys.

"…right in front of us. Yeah, thank you, captain obvious," Sasuke snarked.

"UZUMAKIIIIIIIII!"

From behind them, Gaara let out a deadly roar and charged, his clawed hand shattered the branch Naruto and Sasuke was standing on with a sickening exploding sound.

The two boys skidded on the ground a few feet.

"Naruto, take Gaara and go."

"What?" Naruto was startled by the tone of Sasuke's voice. "What about you?"

"I'll deal with those annoyances first, then I'll catch up. Just go!" the Uchiha said in a confident voice.

"But…"

"I'm not gonna lose!" Sasuke grinned, his Sharingan gleaming dangerously in the dim light of the forest.

Naruto opened his mouth again to protest, but he didn't have the time, as Gaara had already rampaged towards him again and would have taken his head if he didn't jump away in time.

_No choice…_

"Then take care, Sasuke! Remember, don't get killed!"

When Naruto had jumped away with Gaara right on his tail, Sasuke turned back to the Sound ninjas and drew his sword.

"Hey, that's the mighty Uchiha brat! We might not be able to defeat him!" one of the enemy ninja sneered mockingly.

Somewhere inside Sasuke's mind broke out a ripple of anger. _Mighty Uchiha __**brat**__?_

"Ooh, I'm so scared!" another Oto nin laughed. "We're all gonna be killed! Ha ha ha!"

"You'd better be."

All the Oto ninja stopped laughing. They narrowed their eyes at Sasuke, who was glaring at them with a maniacal grin.

"You want to know what the Uchiha can do? Then I will show you _what _the Uchiha can do, because it will be much worse than death, I promise you."

Then with the sword drawn on his hand and his Sharingan blazing furiously, he charged.

* * *

><p>'<em>Oh shit, I forgot to recharge Sasuke!' <em>Naruto exclaimed mentally in horror when he suddenly remembered.

'_**Just leave him. He'll be fine,' **_Kurama snorted nonchalantly. Naruto thought in disbelief.

'_What? How could you, Kurama? Sasuke was tired from his battle with Haku-chan!'_

'_**Then what? What do you expect us to do about that?' **_Kurama asked sharply. _**'I might be your friend now, Naruto, but as I told you before, don't expect me to help that Uchiha. Hell, don't ever expect me to trust **_**any **_**Uchiha at all.' **_

Naruto cringed when he heard the tone full of hatred of his vixen friend.

'_Oh come on, Kurama! Why do you still hate Sasuke that much?'_

'_**Why, you ask?' **_the vixen snarled. _**'If you use your head to think about it, you will remember what the Uchiha had done to us… to ME! Hell, even that Sasuke brat had once tried to kill you and take me to Madara! And you expect me to forget everything that easily? Ha, as if!"**_

Naruto winced, again. What Kurama said was the absolute truth. Considering what Madara did to her twice, and what Obito did to her right before Naruto was even born, and many things after that… how could she _not _be angry with all the Uchiha in the world? Hell, even Naruto himself had all the rights to hate the Uchiha clan. After all, it was that accursed clan who indirectly killed his father and mother, made him suffer in all his childhood, and caused everything horrible in his life.

There was nothing Naruto could say about it. Except…

'_Kurama, hating them won't solve anything. Don't you remember that only because of the Uchiha clan's hatred and arrogance did everything in our lives happen? If you keep that hatred in your heart, you won't be any different from them. You remember that you had killed many people in the past just because you hated human, right? And now you say that anyone with the Uchiha name doesn't deserve to live even when his heart is still free of hatred? That's just hypocritical.'_

Kurama opened her mouth to retort, but realized that she couldn't find anything to say. What Naruto had just said completely shut her up.

Silence ensued in Naruto's head.

'_**Did… did Naruto just say something wise?' **_Shukaku was the first one to snap out of her shock.

'_**Y… yeah… And he managed to shut Kurama-neechan up too!' **_Chomei also mumbled.

'_**What surprised me is how and why Naruto knew so many long and difficult words,' **_Gyuuki muttered.

'_Oh come on! I'm not that of an idiot!' _Naruto complained.

'…_**You're the most annoying jinchuriki I've ever had in my life, Naruto,' **_Kurama said, trying her best to hide the pout on her face.

'_**Aw, but you love him so much you might die,' **_Goku snarked, and Kurama bit him in the tail, making him jump and scream murder. Saikyo didn't say anything, but if she was in her human form, people would definitely see a big smile on her face.

'_**Still, Kurama-nee is right,' **_Isobu voiced his thought. _**'I am not very sure, but I don't think we have to worry much about the Uchiha boy. It's not that I hate him**_,_** well, not as much as Kurama-nee, but during the fight with Haku, I noticed that he hadn't gone all out. There are still many things we don't know about what he can do right now. But I can say for sure that he's not going down easily. So, just focus on this incoming fight first, and we can go for him later. Or just send a shadow clone there to back him up.'**_

'_**Yeah, you should be,' **_Matatabi also chimed in. _**'Gaara-kun have already caught up.'**_

Naruto still wasn't totally convinced about that, but it was the only thing he could do right now.

"Okay, this might be far enough anyway…"

Naruto stopped, and turned back to face Gaara, who was glaring at him with angry murderous eyes.

* * *

><p>"That is the price for underestimating the Uchiha, fools."<p>

Sasuke, breathing heavily, spat out in disdain, looking at the bodies littering the ground.

Otogakure, except for some special named individuals, was full of cannon fodders. That's why Sasuke could take down more than a dozen of them in a few minutes alone.

Even when the battle had tired him, it was still very impressive, considering Sasuke was still only at genin level.

He sheathed his katana and turned around, ready to follow and help Naruto.

"You really are powerful even as a genin, Sasuke-kun. And the Sharingan is amazing. No wonder why Orochimaru-sama wants you that much…"

Sasuke snapped his head back abruptedly, his hands went to the hilt of his katana again.

One of the bodies on the ground started standing up. Sasuke was sure that he had struck him down just a few seconds before, but now… he was standing up, and there was not even a wound on his body.

_Who is that guy…?_

"Still haven't realized who I am, Sasuke-kun?"

The enemy took off the mask he was wearing, and Sasuke breathed out.

"It's you… You're that guy from the first task of the exam… Kabuto!"

* * *

><p><strong>And there you have it. Chapter 16. I'm sorry if one month not writing anything makes this chapter bad XD<strong>

**The battle of Kage-level shinobi has started. **

**What is going to happen to Sakura?**

**And what is Kabuto planning?**

**Naruto and Gaara's fight is also going to start. What will happen?**

**Find out on the next chapter! And please review!**


	17. Chapter 17: Battlefield Konoha

**I'm back!**

**It's been such a long time, I know. Working, post-graduate studying, and one hell of a writer's block. But I'm back.**

**Thank you everyone, for still following my story! And here's Chapter 17!**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 17: Battlefield Konoha<strong>

"Gaara…"

Naruto muttered while staring at one of his best friends… well, sort of, who was writhing in sand and snarling creepily while turning into his grotesque monster form.

'_**I take offense to that!' **_Shukaku growled in annoyance inside Naruto's head.

'_**Seriously Shuki-chan,'**_ Gyuuki snorted. _**'If that's not gross, I don't know what might be anymore.'**_

'_**Shut up you! And stop calling me that!'**_

In front of them, Gaara had already finished transforming. Right now, his upper body was covered in sand, forming a mini Shukaku body with two clawed arms and a tanuki face with coin-like eyes.

He grabbed the branch he was standing on with his clawed hand, and Naruto suddenly felt a sense of foreboding.

He jumped aside, right before the cannonball called Gaara crashed into his face and obliterated the tree under his feet.

"S**C**A**R**E**D** O**F** M**E**, U**Z**U**M**A**K**I**?** **W**H**E**R**E** I**S** T**H**A**T** P**O**W**E**R **O**F **Y**O**U**R**S?** **SH**O**W M**E! GI**VE** IT T**O** **M**E **S**O **I C**AN **C**R**USH** I**T!**!"

_And I thought the Gaara of our time was creepy enough…_

Naruto grimaced. Before, when Gaara hadn't been his friend, he could strike him down without hesitation, as Gaara still had been his enemy at that time. But now… He hesitated.

He couldn't shake the feeling of Gaara being his friend out of his head.

How can he possibly fight a friend he had known for such a long time?

'_**Naruto! Look out!'**_

Naruto blinked, only to see sand crawling up his legs. Too focused on Gaara in front of him, he didn't notice the tiny particles' hidden movement.

_Oh shit!_

'_**Don't worry, I got this!' **_The voice of Shukaku suddenly echoed in his brain. A blast of magnetic chakra from the tanuki, and all the sand was blown away from his body.

Gaara blinked.

Under Shukaku's influence, it looked freakishly weird.

"HO**W…** **HO**W **DI**D Y**OU** R**EPE**L M**Y SA**ND!**?"**

It sounded both scary and funny at the same time, hearing the tone of confusion and fear in Gaara's voice. Creepier, that was also the expression of the Shukaku inside Gaara's body.

"A**AAAARR**RRG**HH**H! N**O!**! AAAAARRRR**GGHHH!**"

Everyone glared at Shukaku inside Naruto's head.

'_**Stop that! It's annoying!'**_

"Heh, heh, hehehehe… Don't worry Mother… No matter what… I will still give you his blood… He will not deny us our existence… I will definitely kill him… aahahahahaHAHAHAHA**HAHAHA!**"

'_**Stop hesitating Naruto!' **_Kurama yelled inside Naruto's head. _**'If you don't start fighting, you will be the one who get beaten to a pulp, not Gaara!'**_

'_But…'_

'_**No buts!' **_the fox didn't let Naruto finish. _**'If you choose to fight Gaara right now, you will be able to release him from that chain of misery he is restraint in. But if you chicken out, you will not only lose your chance to save him from darkness, but your beloved village, your friends, and even you might be killed when he goes completely mad and rampages around! What would you do if that happened, huh? Watch out!'**_

Naruto ducked, and Gaara's sand arm soared over his head, cutting a few strands of his spiky hair.

'_You're right,' _he answered after a few seconds of thinking. _'I cannot hesitate now; Gaara needs me, if I don't do anything it will turn everything we have done to trash. But before we start…'_

"Shadow Clone Jutsu!" A clone appeared next to Naruto in a poof of smoke, and the real Naruto commanded. "Go back Sasuke up!"

After the clone had aye aye-ed and leapt away, Naruto turned back to Gaara, who was charging at him full speed again, and caught his extending arm aiming for his head in a grapple.

"Let's go Gaara! I'll bring you back from the darkness, again!"

Blue chakra exploded from Naruto's body, and Gaara cackled madly.

"Ye**s, ye**s!**! Tha**t's i**t!**! Sh**ow m**e y**our po**wer, U**zuma**ki!**!**"

* * *

><p>Sakura puked out a glob of blood. She collapsed on the ground next to Hinata's bed; her injuries had turned even worse after taking a blast of sound wave from the Sound shinobi in front of her.<p>

Her body was screaming in excrucriating pain. All of her bones felt like being smashed, and her hospital clothes, together with parts of her skin, were ripped by the Decapitating Air Waves. Tears of anguish and fear were threatening to trickle out of her eyes.

Had those sadists called Sound shinobi not wanted to play with their prey before finishing it, Sakura would have been dead meat by now.

Yet, she still pushed herself up, standing on the way of her and Hinata's assailants.

"Ohoh~," the girl, Kin, sneered. "The pinky bitch still wants to play hero!"

She kicked the pinkette at her chest, and Sakura thought her body was going to explode in agony. The remaining of her ribs seemed to shatter under the force of the kick. She couldn't even scream it out anymore; the voice seemed to choke inside her throat and came out as a gurgle of saliva. She collapsed on the ground once more, and this time she couldn't force herself up anymore.

"Enough!" She heard the bandaged one snarling at his teammates. "We're here to complete the mission, not to fool around kicking Konoha bitches! Just kill her and finish it fast!"

Sakura's spine went colder with each word.

_It's over_, she told herself. _You're going to die. Dying like a useless fangirl you are, without even being able to help your comrade… _

…_**If you believe in yourself, there is nothing you can't do!**_

Naruto's words still echoed through her head. During her match with Neji, they were the source of confidence for her; they helped her overcome her fear, gave her the strength to stand up again after the Hyuuga prodigy had beaten her down to the ground…

But now…

_I'm sorry… I cannot do it… This is the end for me…_

Her sight was fading. Through the screen of blood leaking into her eyes, she could vaguely see the people who were standing over her body moving, but she couldn't care less; dying in anyway was fine, as long as the pain would just stop…

Then she heard a wheeze of air, a loud crash, and a high-pitched gasp. But that's just strange; she couldn't even choke out any sound right now, so how…?

Darkness fell around her…

* * *

><p>Karin smirked when Sakura was struck down by Zaku.<p>

_Those three were right on time. They must be here to rescue me… Orochimaru-sama isn't abandoning me…_

The only thing she was annoyed about was that Zaku and Kin liked to fool around with the pink-haired bitch and just didn't finish her off.

"Enough!" Dosu, who was standing next to her, snarled angrily. "We're here to complete the mission, not to fool around kicking Konoha bitches! Just kill her and finish it fast!"

"Meh, stop being such a spoilsport, Dosu," Kin pouted. "What's wrong with having some fun?"

"Ugh, you idiots! Just finish whatever you need to do and get me out of here!" Karin stomped on the floor in frustration. She was getting sick of this. "And remember to bring that Hyuuga girl with you!" she added and turned away.

Suddenly, her instinct screamed at her to duck. She followed it without any thought, and was startled when Dosu's gauntlet soared over her head.

Unfortunately for her, the bandaged genin's jutsu cannot be avoided through mere ducking. Karin felt like her eardrums were going to shatter under the force of the sound waves from Dosu's gauntlet. She gasped out and stumbled to the ground; blood started dripping out of her ears and nose.

"Tch," the bandaged man growled. "I missed."

"What… do you think… you're doing…?" Karin gritted her teeth in pain.

"Oh, isn't it obvious?" Zaku sneered at the collapsed girl in a cheerful tone. "He's killing you, of course!"

"What…?" Karin choked out. "How dare you…? Orochimaru-sama will…"

"Oh, we're so scared!" Zaku laughed. "Tell me Karin, do you know what the mission assigned to us today is?" When the girl shook her head slightly, he exploded in laughter again. "It is to kill you, silly girl! You are useless for Orochimaru-sama, and you knew too much about us, so you must be kept silent forever!"

The world shattered in Karin's eyes. Orochimaru-sama, her savior, her protector, her master… had decided to abandon her…

She turned to Kin, who was standing there impassively with a look of disgust. "Why Kin…? I thought we're friends…"

"Friends, you say?" The other girl sneered in disdain. "All those years when we were taken in by Orochimaru-sama… You're just a useless brat, yet Orochimaru-sama has always favored you over me, always pampered you, just because you're a member of some Uzumaki clan I don't even know anything about! And you think that we're _friends_? Ha! Just wish for it in the afterlife, bitch!"

Those words served as the final nail to the coffin of Karin. She slumped down on the ground; every sign of spirit left her eyes, and she just lied there, broken both in spirit and in body.

Dosu walked towards Karin's motionless body, his right arm raised high. "Good bye, Karin. We won't miss you."

And the deadly arm was brought down on Karin's head. She didn't make any attempt to avoid; it's not like she had any power left in her body to do it.

"LEAF HURRICANE!"

And Dosu was kicked out of the room through the window by a blur of green and orange.

Rock Lee burst into the room, standing in front of the two redheads' bodies in a dramatic pose.

"Stop right there, Sound shinobi! I, the Beautiful Green Beast of the Hidden Leaf, will not allow you to hurt these two pretty blossoms anymore!"

"Why me…?" Next to him, his teammate Tenten groaned pathetically.

* * *

><p>Mei raised her arms to block a vicious kick from the Fourth Kazekage, and skidded back a few steps.<p>

She let out a slight sigh. This was, no doubt, the worst battle she had ever gone through in her life. Even her titanic battle with Yagura, the Fourth Mizukage and the jinchuriki of the Three-Tails Turtle, was not as terrifying as this one.

Yet, it was still the best fight she had ever got in her life.

From the corner of her eyes, she saw the First Hokage from afar clapping his hands together.

"**Wood Style: Wood Dragon."**

The giant serpentine creature erupted from the ground and writhed around with loud cracks and creaks. It descended down the three allied shinobi with its mouth agape, obviously going to devour all of them alive… if you ignored the fact that it was just a construct made of wood.

Without even thinking, Mei flipped through her own set of hand signs.

"Lava Style: Lava Golem!"

The ground rumbled again. This time, a giant humanoid construct made of earth and magma emerged from underground. The two titanic creations clashed against each other, and the golem's massive hands grabbed the maw of the wood dragon in midair and tore it apart, before grabbing the body and flinging it into the wall of flame, destroying it in the process.

Kage-level battle, indeed.

But Mei didn't even think of just stopping there.

"Giga Drill Knuckle!"

She thrust her arm forward. The golem, at her command, immediately launched its arm at the two zombie Hokage with the speed of a rocket, the fist spinning wildly as if it was a drill made of rock and magma. The force generated from the punch was so great that the air hissed furiously when the rock fist soared across, and the Second Hokage had to resort to his Flying Thunder God again to avoid being crushed to bits by the deadly fist.

The two zombie Kage appeared again behind Mei, and Tobirama swung the kunai on his hand at her for his signature Flying Thunder God Slash…

"Water Style: Hydro Cannon!"

The two zombies were blasted away by a high pressure stream of water coming from Hiruzen.

"I have known this will be a great battle, but this is just ridiculous," the old man noted, landing next to Mei with a thud. "Are you all right, my Lady?" he asked in concern.

"Don't worry about me, Lord Hokage," Mei answered him with a confident smile. "I had taken down the Fourth Mizukage alone, remember? And he's the Three-Tails' jinchuriki."

Talking strong like that, Mei still had to do her best not to choke on her breath. Even having Kage-level chakra, enough to handle the Three-Tails jinchuriki alone, her reserve was not unlimited. Right now, she could feel her chakra depleting rapidly after performing so many large-scale jutsu.

"Is that the best you can do?" From afar, Orochimaru's voice rose mockingly. "With that level of power, you won't ever stop me from crushing Konoha!"

"You can still say that, seeing your minions falling like flies out there?" Hiruzen bluffed, pointing out of the barrier at the stands, where Otogakure shinobi were being killed easily by the alliance of Konoha and Kiri. But Orochimaru just laughed.

"Oh, do you really think this is the only thing we have?"

* * *

><p>"Our first wave was repelled, wasn't it?"<p>

"Yes sir! Konoha's defense is too strong for our normal shinobi; it's just like they have prepared for us in advance!"

"I see… It's just like Orochimaru-sama has predicted. Then, it's our time to move."

* * *

><p>Sasuke winced when his sword collided with his opponent's rather weird choice of a weapon.<p>

Instead of a kunai, or a sword, or anything similar, the glassed man in front of him was fending off his attack with an operation scalpel.

And yet, it felt just like he was just toying with him.

"I knew it," Sasuke gritted his teeth while backing away, breathing heavily. "You're not a normal genin at all. There is no normal genin who can fight as well as you…"

"I'm so honored to receive such praise from you, Sasuke-kun," Kabuto did a dramatic mock bow.

"What do you want from me?!" Sasuke snapped, eyeing the seemingly relaxed man in front of him warily. His hands started sweating heavily, just like the time with Gaara in the hallway of the Chuunin exam testing room. But this time, he was alone.

Instead of answering, Kabuto chuckled. "Such intense spirit. And a powerful body, no less. No wonder why Orochimaru-sama got his eyes on you, Sasuke-kun. A pity you refused his gift he was going to bestow upon you in the Forest of Death…"

Sasuke spat out. "I don't need any gift that pedophile of a Sannin wants to give me!"

"Oh really?" Kabuto smiled. "I wonder what you would say after you see this…"

And Sasuke cringed when he felt an incredible source of chakra exploding from afar, in the direction of the village.

* * *

><p>Neji stared at the five men standing around him with narrowed eyes.<p>

He didn't even need to activate his Byakugan to know what was happening outside. All those sounds echoing through the infirmary wall were more than enough for him to understand that there was a great battle going outside.

And the fact that five Otogakure ninja were surrounding him helped a lot, too.

His uncle had departed, leaving him alone with many things to think about. But it seemed there was no time for him to sit down and meditate through it anymore…

The five enemies jumped Neji at once, and the Hyuuga acted in reflex.

"Rotation!"

His absolute defense, a little bit weaker due to his lack of chakra, was still enough to send the five assailants into the walls of the infirmary. A quick tap to each of the enemy shinobi's chest, and they slumped down on the ground.

His body still hurt from his battle with Sakura, but Neji considered himself still able to move and fight, and that was enough. His chakra was replenished mostly by a few soldier pills he found in the infirmary.

He stood up and walked out of the room. Konoha needed another soldier for her defense against the invaders, and she had one more already.

* * *

><p>"This guy…"<p>

"I should have known, lazy bastard."

MUNCH

"Aaaaaaahhhhhh!" Shikamaru bolted up right from his lying position when Akamaru bit him at the bicep. He jumped up flailing, swinging the poor white puppy around in the process.

"I can't believe you, Shikamaru!" Ino screeched. "The village is under attack, and you are lying here sleeping? What kind of shinobi are you?"

"Ugh, troublesome girl…" the Nara boy groaned. "Why should I fight? I just wanna sleep!"

Akamaru answered him by sinking his fangs deeper on his arm.

"OWWWWWW! Stop that, stupid mutt!"

"Hey! Don't speak of Akamaru like that!" Kiba protested.

The bickering of the kids was rudely interrupted by a body soaring over Shikamaru's head.

They turned, and saw the last dozen of Otogakure's shinobi standing on a line, their hands weaving through the same set of hand seals.

There's no doubt; they're getting desperated. They're trying to kill all of them, together with as many civilians as they can…!

"Not on my watch!"

The genin could only feel what seemed to be a gust of wind swept through where they were sitting before the Oto-nin were blown away, one by one. The poor enemy ninja slammed at the barrier surrounding the arena, and were immediately burned to cinder in the infernal flame forming it. Terrified and agony screams filled the air.

Maito Gai, the one who was responsible for the attack, turned back to the terrified genin and gave them his trademark youthful thumbs-up.

"And that was the end of them!"

The invading Oto shinobi in the stadium were all exterminated by the jonin of Konoha, with the help of Zabuza and his students from Kirigakure. The only enemies left in the stadium were Orochimaru, his zombie Kages, and the Sound Four, who were busy holding the deadly barrier intact.

"What… what speed…" Ino spluttered in disbelief.

"Y… yeah…" Choji also muttered. He was so surprised he even dropped the last crumb of chip, which had been in his gaping mouth for a while. "I can't even see him move…"

"What are you five doing?" Kurenai landed next to Kiba. "You should have evacuated while you still could! Or you could have just stayed in Kakashi's genjutsu and slept…"

"Well, I would have if those troublesome people hadn't had the brilliant idea of letting a dog bite me!" Shikamaru retorted. Everyone glared at him.

"Sorry Kurenai-sensei, we cannot do that," Shino said stoically. "The village is under attack, and it is our duty to protect her, even if we're just genin. That's what we learnt all the time during our days in the Academy."

Kurenai cringed hearing the answer from her student.

"But…"

"Such youthful thinking, Aburame-kun! Your spirit is definitely fueled with the Flame of Youth!"

Gai's booming voice from afar didn't help her in any way.

"But you're just children!" Kurenai exploded in protest. "Kiba and Shino, I knew about your abilities, but you," she pointed at Shikamaru, Ino and Choji, "I don't even know what you can do, and this is a war! And you," she pointed at Neji, who had just stepped out from the infirmary of the stadium, "you had just exhausted yourself during the battle with Sakura! How can you expect them to fight in such a dangerous situation?"

"You seem to underestimate my genin so much, Kurenai," Asuma narrowed his eyes, but his girlfriend ignored him.

"I have to fight," Neji answered her stoically. "Exhausting myself in battle is the best way to atone for my sins."

Kurenai gaped. "That... that doesn't even make sense! Kakashi, say something!"

"Kurenai, if the children are so enthusiastic, why not giving them a chance?" Kakashi, the one in question, gave her an eye smile.

Three against one. Or more exactly, _nine _against one. Kurenai's mouth opened, and closed. And it opened, and closed again… and again… and again…

Finally, after a while, she managed to close her mouth for real and sighed.

"Okay, fine. But remember, no putting yourself in danger, you understand me?"

"Yes ma'am!"

When the six genin had already leapt away, Kurenai turned to the men and snarled.

"If there is something happening to them, I'll flay you alive."

Kakashi looked straight at Kurenai's face. "Kurenai, they're not children anymore. They are all official genin, and as such, they are soldiers. Shino was right; right now, it is their duty to help protecting the village, their own home. You cannot be their mama bear forever, Kurenai; that would just do more harm to them than safety."

"What youthful thinking coming from you, my eternal rival!" Gai bellowed again. "I have also dispatched my youthful students Lee and Tenten to the hospital to assist!"

"See?" Kakashi gave her his eyesmile, wisely ignoring the eccentric parts. "Besides, we got preparation, and we're winning right now. What's the worst which might happen?"

Right on cue, chakra spiked up from the direction the kids had just ran towards. A series of loud explosions echoed through the air. And a slight shockwave washed across the stadium.

"As I said, I'll flay you alive," Kurenai hissed, and the three men cringed. The woman grabbed her male colleagues' necks and pulled them away, before the amused looks of their Kirigakure allies.

* * *

><p>The captain of the 13th Regiment of Otogakure's Assault Force shivered in confusion when his men were stopped dead on their way by a hail of kunai, shuriken, and exploding tags raining down on their head.<p>

Orochimaru-sama's plan was flawless. Only very few people were mentioned about the invasion before it started; even most of Otogakure's soldiers hadn't known anything about it until the snake Sannin announced it officially, just about 10 days ago.

Yet, they couldn't even set foot into the inner parts of the village. All the holes in their defense, as pointed out by Kabuto, where they were supposed to march into to break through, were somehow their strongest defense points now.

It's just like Konoha had known what they were doing in advance and had already figured out every way to fend off their assaults.

"Summoning: Iron Maiden!"

A statue of a fortune cat appeared from midair and fell on top of the giant snake summoned by Sound shinobi, crushing its head immediately, together with the poor captain.

"Huh, I didn't know that your Iron Maiden technique could be used like that," one Special Jonin in the Interrogation Division commented.

"There are still many things you don't know about me," Ibiki Morino answered with a smirk. He snapped his finger, and the statue disappeared in a puff of smoke, leaving the crushed head of the snake on the ground in a big crater.

In no time, the elite force of Konohagakure had managed to keep their enemies in a stalemate, and was on the verge of pushing the invasion force back.

Until…

"**GWAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!"**

"What's that?"

Ibiki turned to the direction the scream originated from. And he wasn't amused a little bit.

"That's not gonna be good…" Ibiki muttered.

* * *

><p>Konoha had prepared for an invasion from Otogakure's shinobi, and had already developed a plan to repel the assault with minimal casualties. Except for a few civilians who booked their seats at the stadium and some children in the Academy set up to fool the outside eyes, all the civilians of the village were evacuated secretly by the ANBU force to a series of safe bunkers at various locations within Konoha, so that there would be no great casualty during the defense of the village. Even most shinobi of the village weren't mentioned about this, in case there was a spy in their rank.<p>

Most shinobi of the village, however, were trained specifically to deal with surprised assaults. Therefore, when the first signals of the invasion emerged, they had leapt into action immediately and done a very good job fending off the invaders.

The plan of Hiruzen Sarutobi, Third Hokage, God of Shinobi, to lure Orochimaru out and kill him, was perfect.

He just didn't have a plan for an army of monsters augmented by Orochimaru's curse seals.

"What the hell are those?" a nameless Special Jonin screamed out while scrambling out of the way of a monstrous creature charging at him. Another one of them drove a blade-like hand through his body, and the poor shinobi crumpled down, dead.

"They don't wear any hitai-ate…" Tsume Inuzuka muttered, dodging a punch another creepy creature launched at her. The fist crashed against the house behind her, and the building collapsed.

"Must be Orochimaru's experiments, those things," Hayate Gekko's fiancée, Yugao Uzuki, said under her Cat ANBU mask. She whipped through hand signs, and two slabs of stone erupted from underground and slammed together, squashing a few experiments inside them with a sickening noise, like some dozens of eggs being broken at the same time.

"But they don't seem to be trained very well," her boyfriend noted. "This means we can kill them with enough power and skill. Leaf Style: Crescent Moon Dance!" he announced, and two more shadow clones popped into existence. They, together with the original, charged at the enemies, and one second later, two of the experiments turned into pieces of meat.

"Then it will be easy!" the Inuzuka matriarch grinned ferally. She put her fingers on her mouth and did a taxicab whistle. Immediately, from behind her, two huge ninken leapt forward, before curling their bodies up at the same time as their master like three hairy buzz saws and plowing through the ranks of the experiments. The power of her jutsu was much, much stronger than that of Kiba, and it ripped through the mutated army like cutting paper.

But despite their efforts, more and more of those experiments crowded in again.

"We cannot let them get pass this place!" Genma Shiranui, one of the Hokage's Elite Guards, yelled out. He spat out the senbon in his mouth, and the needle soared across the air like an arrow shot from a full drawn bow, impaling itself on an experiment's forehead, killing him instantly. Then, he drew his favourite weapon – a machete – from a scroll, and decapitated two more enemies with a quick horizontal slash.

_This doesn't seem right at all… Those things are strong indeed, but they don't seem to have any battle capabilities. There is no way someone like Orochimaru would send such an amount of useless things like these to attack the front gate so recklessly in a war.… Unless…_

A distraction.

"You are sharp. But it's too late."

Then suddenly, very slightly, he felt something rushing towards them. Instinct of a veteran shinobi kicked in, he turned and slashed at the space behind him, and wasn't surprised when his weapon clashed against something hard, just like a sword.

The new enemy, a man with very pale skin, white hair and two red dots on his forehead, spoke calmly while grinding his bone sword at Genma's machete.

"Very fast reaction. Just what I expected from Konoha ninja."

_So fast… I cannot even see him move… And yet he's here, right in front of us in a blink…_

"Dance of the Camellia."

What followed was a rain of stabs. The log, which Genma had used hastily to substitute himself with, was shattered to bits under the vicious assault.

_This is gonna suck…_

Then the ground shook.

* * *

><p>Two Oto chuunin popped out of the ground, in a rather quiet place in the center of Konohagakure.<p>

"Is this place good enough?"

"Yeah."

The two simultaneously went through the same set of hand signs.

"Summoning Jutsu!"

A big summoning array spread out from where they stood, and smoke filled the air.

* * *

><p>Juugo of the Scales blinked when he stepped out of the cage containing him.<p>

The last thing he remembered was that he was still inside his cage in the Northern Hideout. Then, without any notice, his consciousness left him.

And now, when he finally woke up, he realized that he was in a strange residential area he didn't know.

And all around him were blood, flesh, bones and explosions. From afar, there were six kids with leaf-symbol headbands running towards him.

His mind immediately went into overdrive. The adrenaline inside him, in combination with the wildly active special enzyme his body created in order to allow him to absorb nature chakra passively by himself, surged into life upon the glimpse of gore in front of him, and flared up uncontrollably.

He gasped out when nature chakra started flowing into his body. He tried to fight back, but more and more of the powerful energy filled his chakra network, and his body was already starting to change.

Throwing his head back, he let out a blood-curling scream.

* * *

><p>"What… the… fucking… fuck…?"<p>

Kiba exclaimed, staring in horror at the morphing man before him. Never before had he felt such a powerful chakra…

"I told you that we should have just stayed there and sleep!" Shikamaru groaned. "What a drag…"

The transformed man looked up. His eyes were strange; the scleras were black instead of the normal white, and the irises had a sick yellow color. And the mad gleam in them sent chills into all the genin's spines.

His whole body twisted. From his back and on his arms, cannon barrels sprouted out.

Shikamaru paled. "Shit! Duck!"

It's incredibly lucky for him to do that, because right at the time the sentence was blurted out, the man exploded.

Blasts of pure chakra shot out of the cannons on his arm and in his back to every direction. Thanks to Shikamaru's warning, the six genin ducked in time, but they could still feel the heat of the beams scorching the air above them.

Street blocks were destroyed. Explosion filled the air. The only thing they could see was fire and light. They were thrown off their feet, and Shikamaru crashed on the ground with a loud "thud", his face skidded on the road painfully.

And before anyone could even stand up, the mutated man started moving. Fast. In a blink of an eye, his arm, now having the shape of an axe, had smashed into the asphalt of the street, right where Shikamaru would have been standing had he not jerked himself up just half a second ago. Only sheer luck had saved the Nara from being split in half, but the blade still managed to make a deep cut on his right leg.

"**You are dead!" **the monster cried out gleefully. **"I kill you! Hahahaha!"**

Then suddenly, a giant fist hit Juugo full force at his side and launched him away. The man flew through the sky and slammed into a building nearby, and was immediately lost in a rain of burning steel, glass and concrete. At the same time, another hand pulled Shikamaru away.

Even without any words exchanged, the genin all knew that this was an enemy they couldn't defeat. Hell, they could not even _survive _if they hanged around too long. So they did the very thing a sane person would do in this case: they bolted away before the transformed man could recover.

And it seemed they did the right thing, because right after they departed, the collapsed building exploded. The strange man stepped out from the ruin, completely unharmed; if there was anything, it would just be that he had become even madder than before.

_What a drag…_

* * *

><p>Sasuke stared at the direction the incredible explosions of chakra came from in horror; sweat started forming around his face. That chakra was so strong… it might even be as strong as Naruto's golden chakra form… But at the same time, it was completely different. Naruto's chakra was powerful, but it was lively and warm. This one… it felt… dark. And mad. For the first time since the battle with Orochimaru in the Forest of Death, Sasuke had felt such fear creeping into his spine.<p>

"See that Sasuke-kun?" Kabuto smiled. "That's only a small bit of what Lord Orochimaru can give you if you come with him. He can offer you powers beyond everything you can imagine. You will even have the power you need to defeat your brother, who massacred your clan, and get the revenge you have been longing for…"

"Shut up!"

Lightning lashed out from Sasuke's hand, aiming at Kabuto. The glassed man jumped aside to dodge, but Sasuke closed his lightning-covered hand into a fist. Five spears of lightning burst out from the tip of the already launched Chidori Sharp Spear towards five different directions, skewering Kabuto who was seemingly too shocked to continue avoiding. Sasuke smirked…

Until the body of Kabuto _melted_, revealing it was just a mud clone.

"Damn it…"

"Sasuke-kun," the voice of Kabuto rose from behind him. "You are an Uchiha; you deserve to have the power. Right now, you're just a mere genin with some meagre jutsu. Your teammate, Naruto-kun, was trained by Jiraiya of the Sannin. Soon, he will surpass you, and you will become the loser. You can't let that happen, can you?"

Sasuke's hand froze in midair upon hearing that sentence.

"Orochimaru-sama can help you become stronger than anyone…" the silky voice of Kabuto continued whispering on his ears. "Naruto-kun… Kakashi… even Itachi… He can even help you advance your Sharingan to a level no Uchiha, not even Itachi, could ever do…"

_You can also awaken the same Mangekyo Sharingan as me… However, there is a requirement…_

"What are you blabbering about? The Mangekyo Sharingan is the greatest power a Sharingan can get!"

Kabuto's eyes twinkled behind his glasses. "Oh, is it really?"

"Don't listen to him Sasuke!"

Suddenly, Naruto dove down from the sky with two Rasengan on his hands. The deadly maelstroms descended on Kabuto's head, and would have pulverized him had the glassed ninja not jumped out of the place on time. Instead, they drilled into the ground, making two rather deep craters.

"Tch…" Kabuto clicked his tongue. "It seems we will need to leave this conversation to another day… Just remember Sasuke-kun… we'll always welcome you…"

And with that, Kabuto sank into the ground and disappeared.

"Damn it!" Naruto, or rather, the clone of Naruto, cursed loudly. "I missed him!"

"Naruto?" Sasuke blinked. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm just a clone," clone-Naruto explained. "The boss is fighting Gaara somewhere ahead; he told me to assist you and then return to him."

Then he stared at Sasuke. "Are you okay, Sasuke? You look kinda pale. Do you need to…"

"No, I'm okay," Sasuke cut him off.

"But…"

"I said I'm fine!" the Uchiha snapped. Then, seeing clone-Naruto's face, he cringed. "Sorry. But we need to catch up with your boss before he does something stupid and hurts himself."

"Hey! We're not that stupid!"

Sasuke smirked. "We'll see about that. Now, are you going to lead me to him or not?"

* * *

><p>Naruto's head snapped back.<p>

He felt it. Hell, there is no one in the world who wouldn't feel it. Those were, no doubt, very concentrated blasts of pure nature chakra.

His stomach twisted. The last times he could remember such destructive power were the time he spent with Killer Bee, and… the invasion of Pain. At that time, the village was reduced to a smoking crater right before he could arrive.

What if… what if something like that happened again…?

'_**Naruto!'**_

One second of distraction from Naruto was too much of a chance for Gaara. Naruto couldn't react fast enough to dodge the claw the Suna jinchuriki sent at him. His eyes widened; he was going to be pierced through the stomach.

'_**Damn it!'**_

Then Naruto felt his right leg moving. It kicked upward, sending Gaara away and pulling Naruto's body up at the same time. His body made a backflip and landed heavily on a branch nearby with a "thud".

Crotch first. With both his legs spreading eagle.

From across the Elemental Countries, all men (and two girls) cringed at the same time.

Yes, even Gaara. Even Orochimaru and the three zombie Kages inside the barrier.

'_**Oops.'**_

Naruto struggled up. Despite the excruciating pain in his private area, he still found a great gratitude towards the beast who had just saved his life. _'T… thanks, Goku… You just saved my life…'_

'_**And I don't think I can do it another time,' **_the monkey snorted. _**'Pay attention, will you? You cannot survive in a battle without focusing!'**_

'_But…' _Naruto bit his lips. _'Did you feel that? That was an incredible amount of nature chakra! What if…' _he started panicking, _'what if it was like that time, when Nagato invaded Konoha…?'_

Naruto's hyperventilating thought was cut off abruptly by a horrible screeching noise in his head, as if there were a horde of cats grazing their claws against a blackboard at the same time.

'_What the fuck…?!' _

'_**Good, finally got your attention.'**_

'_What did you do Mata-chan?' _Naruto wailed, clutching his head in pain. _'Screw that; _how _did you do that inside my head anyway?' _

'_**I am a cat; doing things like that is my specialty,' **_the cat answered smugly. _**'But leave that until later; right now, keep your head on your own battle; there is no time to worry about the others when you're fighting for your own life!'**_

'_What?! How could you…?'_

'_**You shut up and listen,' **_Matatabi cut him short in annoyance. _**'I used to be a weapon of Kumogakure; I have faced many Konoha shinobi before. And they are the fiercest warriors I've faced. Do you really think Konoha will fall under that kind of attack? That will be the greatest insult to the whole history of Konohagakure, mind you. So stop worrying about meaningless things and focus on your own fight!'**_

Naruto's dumbfounded face looked just like he had just taken a hammer to the head.

Then he glanced back at the direction of the village.

If that's the case, no more hesitation. He will have to finish this battle, fast!

He kicked hard at the tree branch under him, launching himself at the direction Gaara was pushing himself up and growling.

'_**Naruto, watch out for that…'**_

BAM!

Well, you should still look at where you're shooting yourself towards first, Naruto.

Smashing your face into a tree won't solve anything.

* * *

><p>"Stop. I can't run any more. Let's take a rest."<p>

Kiba stared at Shikamaru in disbelief. "What? Are you crazy? That monster is coming for us! There is no time to be lazy!"

"And?" the Nara just shrugged. "There is no way we can get away from him. So why should we waste our energy running?"

Everyone gaped in horror at Shikamaru.

Except for one.

"Shikamaru-san, are you thinking of fighting him?"

Now, all the horror gaping turned to Shino, who had just said those words. Shikamaru just shrugged.

"Well, why not? If we continue running, sooner or later he will get us, and we'll all be killed. But if we stay and ambush him, we will have the element of surprise. Our chance to survive will be higher."

"Are you insane?" Ino shrieked. "He just nuked the whole block with a simple chakra blast! There is no way we can match him in power! We're going to lose for sure!"

"I didn't say anything about defeating him," Shikamaru snorted in annoyance. "It's true we cannot fight him one on one; he will decimate us. But if we ambush him together, we can stall him a bit before someone notices and comes to help us." _Hopefully…_

"Hey guys, if you're going to do something, better do it fast, because that guy is very close now!" Choji, the only one who hadn't said anything, muttered fearfully. Even though no one in the team was a sensor, they could still feel the terrifying chakra coming from the approaching man.

Shikamaru landed on the ground. He looked around all of his comrades once. His hands went into his normal thinking pose, and his eyes were closed. Everyone else landed around him; their eyes stared at him with the same worried expression. After a few seconds, the Nara's eyes snapped open.

"We'll do it like this…"

* * *

><p>"Orochimaru, you bastard…"<p>

The aforementioned bastard let out a cruel chuckle. "What's wrong sensei? Too scared that your village is being destroyed piece by piece?"

"How dare you throwing into a battle even your failed experiments?" Hiruzen glared at Orochimaru. "They offered you their life, and yet you… You're a monster… throwing them away like that…"

"Oh, and why is that, Sarutobi-sensei?" Orochimaru laughed cruelly while fending off his old teacher's assault with the Kusanagi. "They're powerful, and they're expendable, unlike the shinobi you love with all your heart! While you're stuck here waiting to be killed by me, your precious village out there is being destroyed, and your beloved citizens are being slaughtered! And you cannot even do anything about it! Now do you see how useless you are, as a Hokage?"

The old Hokage swatted the blade away. In his voice, the tone of grief was clear. "You are right. I have failed many things in my life. I have failed to stop the Uchiha massacre from happening. I have failed to protect a boy who was like my own grandchild… I have failed to stop a dangerous criminal like you… I really am useless as a Hokage…"

"Finally realized it, eh?" the snake man smirked. "Too bad it won't help you…"

"However, it doesn't mean you're suited to be one either."

Orochimaru's eyebrow rose. "Oh?"

"You heard me," Sarutobi calmly delivered another nasty smash at Orochimaru's head, making the rogue Sannin scramble away to a side. "No Hokage will ever go as far as using his citizens as guinea pigs to conduct experiments. No Hokage will ever sacrifice the people whom he is supposed to protect to run away from his own death. And no Hokage will ever throw away the people who trusted him! You don't have the Will of Fire in you; that's why you can never be Hokage!"

The smirk on Orochimaru's face faltered. He snarled.

"That stupid 'Will of Fire' again… Spare me the nonsense, will you? I really want to see what that 'Will of Fire' of yours will do for you when I kill you today!"

"You still don't get it, do you Orochimaru?" The old man answered him with a smile. "When I chose to face you, I had already prepared to die. But now I can tell you… locking yourself inside this barrier with us is the worst choice you have made. I may have failed once, but it will not happen again. The only one who will die today is you, Orochimaru!"

"Let me see you try, sensei," Orochimaru growled angrily. The two men charged at each other again; each of their traded blows became more and more vicious.

* * *

><p><strong>Definition<strong>

**Lava Style: Lava Golem**

**Classification: Ninjutsu**

**Rank: S**

**Class: Support, Offensive**

**Range: Close, Mid and Long-range**

**The most powerful ninjutsu in Mei Terumi's arsenal, which she used to single-handedly defeat the Fourth Mizukage Yagura. Using her Lava Style chakra, Mei can pull out rock, dirt and lava from deep underground to make a humanoid construct, called a "golem". The size of the golem is based on how much chakra Mei spends on creating it. Upon its creation, Mei can use her chakra to send control signals to the golem, allowing it to use powerful physical melee or ranged attacks. At full power, the technique could even match the power of Yagura when he had transformed fully into Tailed Beast Mode.**

**Water Style: Hydro Cannon**

**Classification: Ninjutsu**

**Rank: B**

**Class: Offensive**

**Range: Mid to Long-range**

**The user, utilizing water element chakra, manipulates the water molecules in the air around him and compresses them into spheres of water, which he uses to launch at the enemy. The orbs of water can be merged together to form a bigger water sphere with higher destructive power. Or, the user blasts a high-pressured stream of water from his mouth using his own water chakra.**

* * *

><p><strong>And cut!<strong>

**The battle of Konoha is becoming more and more brutal. Some other unexpected characters appeared.**

**What will Konoha shinobi do?**

**And what will Naruto do to befriend Gaara once again?**

**Stay tuned! And please review!**


	18. Chapter 18: Because We

**I'm back, again! Thank you for all the positive and negative reviews to my story.**

**It's been a year since I first started this story, right everyone?**

**To commemorate it, this will be the longest chapter I've ever written. Enjoy reading!**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 18: Because We…<strong>

Naruto's body crashed right through a tree with a sickening crack.

"Ow!"

"Ow" was definitely an understatement. He hadn't been damaged quite badly, but being punched through a tree by an arm made of sand definitely hurt. It felt just like when the real Shukaku punched him in the face.

'_**Pfff,' **_He heard Shukaku snorting in his head. _**'My punch was much harder than that!'**_

His relentless assault with hundreds of shadow clones couldn't even get pass Gaara's defense. Whenever he and his clones approached Gaara, the redhead would just swat them away either with the monstrous strength of Shukaku, or with a wide, quick blast of wind.

'_**Naruto, taijutsu won't do anything against him! Try some ninjutsu!' **_Kokuoh urged him.

'_I know! But what to use…'_

From afar, Gaara growled.

"W**hy** do y**ou tr**y so h**ar**d…? Yo**u're** weak… Why **stru**ggling **meani**ngless**ly…? Wh**y** w**on**'t y**ou ju**st DIE!"**

On his sand arms, the shape of a lot of shuriken started forming. Naruto understood immediately what was going to happen.

Blocking will just slow down his momentum. He will have to match the attack with his own attack…!

The gears in his mind immediately came to life full speed. The image of a kunai with all of the necessary details appeared in his head: the sharp diamond-shaped tip, the handle wrapped in cloth with a ring at the end, the black steel material, the way Tenten's father smashed his hammer on the red steel to shape the appearance of the ninja knife, the skills of all the shinobi who wielded this particular weapon…

"Sa**nd Shu**rik**en!"**

"Multiply by 100! Creation: Weapon Projection Jutsu!"

A barrage of kunai formed around Naruto and launched themselves towards Gaara just as a barrage of shuriken made of sand shot our from Gaara's arms. The two storms of weapons met in midair, steel clashed with sand. The air was suddenly full of loud clanging noises.

'_Alright! Finally got that jutsu down!'_

'_**Not perfect, you mean.'**_

True, the kunai created by Naruto's chakra were now all popping into smoke after stopping the barrage of sand shuriken coming from Gaara.

'_You don't need to say it like that…' _Naruto pouted.

'_**Well, I was really surprised when the old man could pull that jutsu out with only one try, you know,' **_Isobu noted. _**'I didn't think he had the structure of the weapon so perfectly, or had the chakra density to create them like that.'**_

During the training month, Naruto had once shown Hiruzen the jutsu. While he was complaining loudly about how hard it was to create the weapons perfectly from only chakra, the old man just pondered in thought, and after about five minutes of thinking, he suddenly smiled, and made some hand signs. After a puff of smoke, a perfect shuriken appeared on his hand, sharp and sturdy as if it was a real shuriken made from real steel, not from chakra, before the gaping mouth of Naruto and the amusing face of Jiraiya.

'_**Well, to be fair, he had been working with a shuriken for decades before Naruto was even born,' **_Kokuoh said wisely. _**'So it's no wonder why he knew the shuriken so thoroughly just like the back of his hand… Watch out!'**_

Looking up, Naruto saw Gaara descending on his head with his left clawed arm lunging at him. This time, the redhead was the one who initiated combat first.

Not even stopping to think, Naruto reacted instinctively.

"Shadow Clone Jutsu!"

Five clones appeared in front of the real Naruto and took the blunt force of the punch. They exploded violently, sending Gaara flying, and from within the smokescreen, the real Naruto emerged; on his hand, there was a piece of paper with sealing formulae written on it.

* * *

><p>"<em>What is this?" Naruto stared at the piece of paper on Jiraiya's hand. <em>

_The Toad Sage chuckled. "It's a seal I designed to suppress the power of Tailed Beasts within a jinchuriki. I originally created it to help you control the Kyuubi in case you one day needed it… But I think you won't need it anymore, right?"_

"_So why don't you keep it?"_

_Jiraiya shook his head. "I'm giving this to you to use against Gaara when you two clash later. If what I heard about Gaara was true, he was a psychopath. And there is no way to stop him if he unleashes the full power of Shukaku on the village. But I believe you won't like to fight him if you can, will you? So what you need to do is to get close to him and stick this to his forehead when Shukaku's chakra goes out of control."_

'_**The pervert is right,' **__Naruto heard Gyuuki inside his head. __**'The structure that seal is based on **__**is an advanced structure which is usually used to suppress a very large and powerful amount of chakra.**__**It basically blocks the movement of chakra in a person's body when applied, making the applicant unable to access the chakra of us inside them anymore, at least for a short time enough for him to calm down. It is pretty useless if used directly against us, but through the jinchuriki… it is a completely different story. He is good, I admit.'**_

_Naruto looked at the seal on Jiraiya's hand worriedly for a while. Then, he reached out his hand and took it. "Thanks, Pervy Sage. You and the old man, be careful against Orochimaru, too."_

"_You don't have to remind me about that," the Sage answered him with a confident smirk._

* * *

><p>"Because you're like me, Gaara! I understand all your pain, being treated as a monster… So I will do anything to save you from the darkness! I AM YOUR FRIEND!"<p>

Naruto's hand lashed out at Gaara's forehead. Just another step…

'_**On your left, Naruto!'**_

'_Huh?'_

He immediately raised his arm to block, but couldn't stop another giant heavy arm made of sand, Gaara's right arm, from striking him at the ribs on the left side of his body and throwing him away before he could touch the other jinchuriki. Naruto was once again sent flying like a ragdoll, but thankfully, no bone was broken.

Naruto groaned and crawled up. It freaking **hurt**. Not only in the body, but in his heart also.

_Now I finally understand what old man Hashirama felt when he had to face Madara in battle… _

To apply the seal on Gaara's forehead, he needed to move closer to him, enough for his hand to reach Gaara's head. But if he wants to do that, he must move faster than Gaara or his sand could react.

'_**Naruto, use our chakra now! It's your only chance against Gaara right now!'**_

'_Ugh… I had hoped we wouldn't need to resort to this…'_

Tailed Beast Chakra Cloak was, right now, the ultimate trump card Naruto had in his arsenal. With the chakra the Beasts inside him granted him, every aspect of Naruto's body was enhanced massively, from the muscle strength, chakra, power of jutsu to even his senses. Not as destructive as when he was in his full Tailed Beast Mode, when he could spam Tailed Beast Bombs like crazy of course, but this was more than enough. He was incredibly powerful already when he was in this state.

But unfortunately for Naruto, the greatest problem lies exactly there.

With the absurd amount of power this mode gave him, he had no way to tone it down. Even a normal Rasengan created in this mode could easily blast Gaara to shred even when he was in his half-transformation. That's the reason why Naruto didn't enter this state right when their fight started; he feared that he could accidentally kill Gaara with a stray Rasengan or something.

He still remembered that time when he was sparring with Jiraiya…

* * *

><p>"<em>Holy shit."<em>

_Those were the only words Jiraiya could say before the sight of destruction in front of him. _

_Apparently, Naruto's buffed-with-Tailed Beast-chakra Rasengan had just blown a boulder the size of a house to smithereen. Yes, a __**normal **__Rasengan._

"_Well, it's just that powerful," Naruto shrugged. "I just cannot control the destructive power when it is unleashed, so…"_

"_Naruto," the perverted sage turned to the blonde, his left eye twitched. "Never use this chakra cloak thing during a 'capture alive' mission, understand?"_

_Naruto gulped._

* * *

><p>So, mowing down everything with maximum destructive power? Piece of cake. Beating someone to a pulp, while keeping him alive and healthy? That's a completely different story.<p>

And there was another limit: he couldn't stay in this mode longer than three minutes, with the body of a kid he was having now.

But there's no time to hesitate now… For his plan to work, he needed speed, and the Cloak was the only thing which could give him what he needed now.

Naruto nodded, and immediately, the incredibly potent chakra of the Tailed Beasts rushed into Naruto's chakra network. With an explosion of energy, his chakra cloak started forming.

Naruto's chakra cloak also got a drastic change in appearance. His whole body was clad in long-sleeved black body armor with golden symbols of the seal engraved into it. The golden overcoat was still there, but now, it was sleeveless with shoulder pads and was held together by a strap at the waist, making it look more like a half-cape with nine splitting tails at the end. An aura of golden energy covered his whole body from his heels to the tip of his spiky hair. If there was anything to say about it, it's just Naruto looked even more badass than he was before…

Well, had he not been still a midget, anyway.

With his newly acquired speed, Naruto dashed at Gaara. The Shukaku jinchuriki growled, and thrust his arms forward; hands made of sand burst out from the ground and launched themselves at the blonde Konoha shinobi like missiles. But Naruto's speed, together with his enhanced senses and reflex, allowed him to dodge all the sand missiles easily.

Only a few steps more. Maybe he wouldn't have to resort to fighting after all…

His legs moved faster. His hand lashed out; the seal was ready to be applied on Gaara's forehead…

Then he felt his face colliding with something hard.

A high and long wall made of rock, sand and some kinds of very hard ore suddenly erected from the ground, right at the place he was aiming at.

However fast and good reflex you are, if there is a wall suddenly appearing in your running path, and you're charging full speed at it, the natural result is that you will smash your face into it. Kakashi had learnt this the hard way when he first invented his Chidori.

Well, maybe not if you have the power of supernatural magical eyes, but…

Screw Newton and his Laws of Physics.

Naruto's collision with the wall caused a sickeningly loud "boom", and a human-shape crater appeared on the wall. But the sudden halt didn't slow the blonde jinchuriki down.

Naruto rushed into the wall again, this time on purpose. On his hand, his other signature jutsu, the Rasengan, started forming. With a loud battle cry, the spiraling sphere collided with the large wall, and this time, he managed to plow right through it. The sand shield immediately erected itself around Gaara, blocking him from view, and Naruto's fist crashed against it.

"Heh."

But Naruto's speed right now was at least equal to Lee's with five Gates opened. In a flash, the blonde disappeared from Gaara's view and before the Sand jinchuriki could even realize, his face ate a very nasty punch from Naruto who had just snuck through the protective barrier with sheer speed.

Then Gaara collapsed into a pile of sand.

_What…?_

'_**To your right, Naruto!'**_

Naruto turned his head, and he paled when he saw what was going to happen.

Gaara, a few steps away, in his half-transformed state, was kneeling on the ground with his head raised high. In front of his mouth, a black sphere the size of a basketball had formed.

Tailed Beast Bomb. He was preparing to fire a freaking Tailed Beast Bomb.

Having faced them, and even used them many times before, Naruto knew like the back of his hand how powerful and destructive a Tailed Beast Bomb is. That time when he went four-tailed and used a smaller Tailed Beast Bomb than this one, he utterly obliterated three Rashomon gates Orochimaru summoned and made a gigantic crater on the ground. Another time, he blasted the freaking **Pain**, protected by his Shinra Tensei, off to the sky when he was in six-tailed state. Tailed Beast Bombs, unless you have hax dimensional phasing power like Obito, or the ability to teleport them to another place like Minato, are unavoidable.

And even if somehow Naruto managed to avoid it, the angle Gaara was aiming at meant he would take down at least a quarter of Konoha, which was two miles behind Naruto's back.

And there is no time to stop Gaara from firing the deadly ball anyway. He will have to…

'_Kurama!'_

'_**I know!'**_

Naruto opened his right hand. Immediately, chakra started spinning in his palm, taking the form of his prized Rasengan. Two more hands made of chakra sprouted from his wrist and wove around the sphere, and in just two seconds, his signature Rasenshuriken was formed. The air whipped around him, and the clearing was suddenly filled with loud screeching noises.

The chakra shuriken left Naruto's hand right as the deadly black sphere shot out from Gaara's mouth. The two projectile attacks flew towards each other, and when everyone expected a nasty collision and an earthshaking explosion…

The ball soared over the shuriken.

_Now!_

Right then, the shuriken detonated. From under the Tailed Beast Bomb, air suddenly exploded into a wrathful tornado, and the black ball of chakra was shot upward by the pressure of the whirlwind. The Tailed Beast Bomb rocketed into the blue sky… twenty meters… fifty… sixty…

Then the forest shook with a loud explosion in the sky. A huge shockwave washed across the clearing, and would have swept Naruto off his feet had he not been ready.

'_Alright!'_

'_**Naruto, around you!'**_

Naruto heard the warning, but it was too late. From every direction around him, a large amount of sand burst out from the ground, and immediately closed in around him as if he was a living magnet.

The Tailed Beast Bomb was just a distraction. What Gaara was really aiming for was this: trapping him inside his cocoon of sand and crush him with his Sand Burial.

How could Shukaku be such a good tactician, by the way?

'_**Hey!'**_

In just a second, Naruto was completely locked inside a very thick and very heavy pyramid of sand, unable to even move a muscle.

Naruto cursed when the sand started constricting around his body. If he doesn't do anything soon, he will be crushed to a pulp for sure…!

_No choice then…_

Naruto quickly gathered all the chakra in his golden cloak. With a loud yell, the chakra exploded, taking down the sand prison holding him with a loud "bang". He escaped death barely, but his Tailed Beast Cloak also dissipated as a result.

Then suddenly, Gaara's sand arms extended from afar and slammed into Naruto's body with the speed of two rockets. Naruto was pushed into the tree trunk, oxygen was taken out of his lungs when the two clawed hands grabbed him and squeezed hard.

"Urgh…"

If it was only sand, Shukaku's power might have been able to help him get out. But this arm was a construct made from both sand and a very large and dense amount of chakra from the other Shukaku, and controlled actively by Gaara's mind; Naruto's Shukaku couldn't dispel it.

"Di**e, Uz**uma**ki!" **Gaara shouted in glee, squeezing his two hands up harder and crushed the blonde jinchuriki in a loud plop.

"Chidori!"

…or at least, that's what would have happened had Sasuke arrived just two seconds later.

Gaara screamed when the lightning-charged hand of Sasuke tore through his two sand arms and cut them off his body. Suddenly being cut off from Gaara's control, the two grotesque hands flinched midair and collapsed into sand again, freeing Naruto.

Sasuke spun on midair and delivered a rolling kick on Gaara's face. The red-haired jinchuriki's body plunged to the ground and connected with the dirt in a loud "thud".

"I knew you wouldn't be able to do it without my help," the Uchiha turned to Naruto with his trademark smirk on his face.

Naruto smiled. Despite being annoyed by Sasuke's arrogant antic, he was still glad for his big damned hero moment.

"I hate to say this, but thank you for being on time."

"Blo**od…**?"

The two turned back to Gaara, whose body was twitching wildly. The two sand arms were separated from his body, revealing his two bloody normal arms below.

"Bloo**d… My… **bl**ood… AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGHHHHH! My blooooooooood!"**

"Oh crap," muttered Naruto.

In front of them, Gaara's body started morphing again. Sand once again crawled up his bleeding arms and his body, healing them and melding them into even more grotesque Shukaku-like shapes.

And the worst thing is, a tail-like appendage had sprouted out of his tailbone. Being a jinchuriki himself, Naruto knew what would happen when a transformation started to advance to the "tail" state.

It's just a little bit more before he turned completely into Shukaku.

'_Shit, we'll have to stop him before he goes into full Tailed Beast Mode, or else…'_

"That is Shukaku?" Sasuke stared at the creature in front of them. "Wow, that's the ugliest thing I've ever seen in my life."

'_**Release me you guys! Release me! I'll flay that Uchiha alive!' **_Shukaku screamed hysterically inside Naruto's mind while the other Tailed Beasts had to try their best to hold the tanuki back from taking over Naruto's body and blasting Sasuke to bits.

The Shukaku-fied Gaara raised his arms, and Naruto's eyes widened when he realized what was going to happen.

"Shit! Jump!"

Sasuke, however, hadn't even waited for the command. His Sharingan allowed him to see the existence of chakra in a human's body, and such an absurd amount of chakra exploding around Gaara right now must _not _be a good sign at all. He had already leapt into the air before Gaara slammed his hands downward.

The ground exploded. Tendrils of sand shot out everywhere from below the surface, skewering through the trees standing on their way like they were made of paper. Naruto and Sasuke had to jump around frantically while trying to prevent the deadly spears from turning them into Swiss cheese… or anything similar their world has.

"Naruto, do something!" Sasuke screamed hysterically while trying to cut a sand spike off with his sword.

"What? Why me?" Naruto screamed back while zigzagging around the field, dodging multiple tendrils trying to pierce him from below in the process.

"I don't know, because you have a bigass fox in your belly? DO SOMETHING!"

'…_**Shukaku? I changed my mind; let's kill that Uchiha.'**_

'_Not you too!? This is not the time!'_

A stray pebble hit Sasuke's hand, knocking his sword away. Some tendrils of sand pierced through the blade, shattering it in the process.

"Oh come ON! Not again!"

_Okay Naruto, think… How did you defeat Gaara the first time?_

'_**If you ever think of doing **_**that**_** again Naruto, I'll **_**murder**_** you by these two hands; Madara and everything be damned,' **_Shukaku growled menacingly in his head, and Naruto shuddered. Shukaku, despite the fact that it had been a long time, was still sore about _that_ incident whenever someone reminded her about it, accidental or on purpose.

Well, a girl definitely won't react nicely if you suddenly poke her in the butt, you know. Especially with a kunai that explodes.

'_**Naruto, flood the field with a powerful water jutsu! It will slow the movement of the sand down!' **_Isobu said, and Naruto immediately understood. He flipped through some hand seals for a jutsu Jiraiya had just taught you during his training month.

Luckily, this was the forest, so there was a lot of groundwater underground.

"Water Style: Spring Burst!"

The ground rumbled, and water erupted from every crack on the surface, soaking the whole battlefield in an instant.

The basic concept of this jutsu was using water-element chakra to stimulate the activity of the groundwater veins underground to pull them onto the surface, making a small puddle of clean water for the user to consume. It was created by Jiraiya with the purpose of making a temporary water source in case there wasn't any closeby. But give it to Naruto, with his mediocre chakra control and incredible reserve of chakra…

Well, let's just say "a spring" is an extreme understatement.

'_**Well, that's not what I expected, but it's effective,' **_Isobu sweatdropped.

"Spring? This is a freaking lake!" Sasuke exclaimed while landing on the water surface.

"Well, sorry for having a lot of chakra without enough control!" Naruto retorted.

The powerful explosion of water also had a good effect of blasting Gaara to the air. The sand-covered jinchuriki plunged down from twenty feet above and collided with the water surface in a very loud "splash". With a loud roar, he burst out of the water, only to see two Naruto charging at him, holding a huge blue swirling ball of chakra.

"Sorry Gaara, but you have to stop now!"

The two orbs of chakra descended on Gaara, and his eyes gleamed madly.

"**Wind Style: Sandstorm Devastation!"**

The deadly sand burst erupted from Gaara's mouth like a cannon blast, blowing the two Naruto away before they could deliver their attacks. The two blondes crashed into the water, the two Rasengan on their hands dispersed violently, sending water everywhere. Gaara followed the two crashing blondes with a satisfied grin and crouched down, ready to leap after them for the killing blow…

Then he was shocked. Literally.

Lightning danced across the water surface from Sasuke's palm, which was now submerged in the water, and ran through Gaara's body with a violent force. The Suna jinchuriki screamed out in pain; his body went numb with each arc of lightning piercing his body. Even the protective sand armor around him couldn't protect him from the electricity channeled through the very conductive water he was standing on.

"Naruto! Now!" Sasuke screamed out, and Naruto, cloaked again in his golden chakra cloak, shot forward in a yellow flash. The lightning chakra from Sasuke's Shocking Web Jutsu was dancing across his body too, but the cloak had protected him from the worst effect of the jutsu. His hand lashed out and the seal was slapped on Gaara's forehead.

The red haired jinchuriki's body immediately cringed up. He could feel Shukaku's chakra retreating from his network, and the sand appendages falling from his body part by part.

'_**No! I was just so close! I can't be stopped like this! No… NOOOOOOOOOO!'**_

Those were the last words Shukaku could scream out before Gaara's body slumped down, consciousness leaving him. The redhead collapsed forward, right into Naruto's wide opening arms which caught him.

"Finally, it's over," the blonde breathed out.

Right at that time, Kankuro and Temari landed near them.

"Get away from my brother!" Temari screamed, brandishing her fan, ready to blast both Naruto and Sasuke with her Wind Scythe Jutsu. Naruto just raised an eyebrow.

"Dude, we have just beaten your jinchuriki brother. And now, you are trying to threaten us?"

Temari cringed. Even though there was no hostility in Naruto's voice, she could still feel the threat coming from those words.

"W-well, even if I have to die here, I'm not going to allow you to—"

"Wait nee-chan!" Kankuro jumped in hastily. "Konoha shinobi, we're sorry for what our brother had done, but we are here in peace. We're not going to fight you. Please, just return our brother to us and we'll leave."

"Sorry, but that's impossible for now," said Naruto calmly. "Your brother tried to pick a fight with us outside of the Chuunin Exam, and as a representative of Sunagakure, this is an action which might lead to war between the two villages. Therefore, returning him to you or not is not within our authority. We will need to consult the Hokage before making the final decision. Now, if you're ready, we're going back to the village. You can come with us if you want."

Temari and Kankuro winced, but they knew they had been defeated. Meanwhile, Sasuke stared at Naruto as if the blonde had just grown another head.

"Okay, it's final; you're not Naruto. Naruto cannot say those words you have just spouted out. Where is the real Naruto?"

Naruto pouted. "I hate you, Sasuke."

Mentally, he gave Kokuoh a thumbs-up. _'Kokuoh, that speech was awesome!'_

'_**Told you,' **_the horse answered with a smirk.

"Okay, let's go!"

With those words, Naruto departed with Gaara on his shoulder, and the two Suna jinchuriki followed him quietly without a word. Sasuke also followed, but not before he took a glance back at the battlefield, at the huge lake made from Naruto's jutsu.

_Naruto… Just how strong have you become…?_

* * *

><p>Juugo landed on the ground with a loud "thud".<p>

"**Where are you?! Come out here so I can kill you!"**

Actually, he didn't even need to ask. Nature chakra allowed him to feel the presents of others without being a sensor himself. So it was not hard for him to find out about the children who were hiding behind a small house at the side of the street.

He grinned madly; his right hand twisted into some kind of strange cannon with six small barrels circling another bigger one. Chakra started gathering inside the barrels. A simple blast of that is more than enough to vaporize the enemies and the area around them…

Then suddenly, Shikamaru emerged from behind the house and launched a handful of shuriken at Juugo. The deadly weapons soared through the air, but they didn't even faze the man a little bit. He swung his morphed arm, knocking away all the throwing stars in one swipe, while laughing crazily.

"Spiked Human Bullet Tank!"

Then suddenly, a spinning human boulder descended down Juugo's head from nowhere. The 69 kilogram of Choji's weight, multiplied by the Expansion Jutsu, together with the kunai poking out from every part of his body, made the deadly jutsu even deadlier. The menacing ball of flesh slammed down hard on Juugo, and for a split second the monstrous man seemed to be crushed, but then a loud growl came, and the technique stopped dead on its track and was gradually pushed back by the man who was supposed to be smashed to paste under it. There wasn't any sign of injury; he was still laughing.

But that was just the first part of Shikamaru's plan. His shadow, connected with Choji's, immediately lashed out upon the chubby boy's contact with Juugo and latched onto the monstrous man's shadow. Juugo cringed; his movement faltered for a moment, and that's all Shikamaru needed.

"Kiba, now!"

"On it! FANG OVER FANG!"

At the command, Kiba and Akamaru rushed in like two mini tornadoes, charging at Juugo in his prized clan jutsu. With both his hands busy holding Choji's back, there was no way for him to block the incoming human drills coming from both of his sides and slamming into him with the force of two torpedoes. Loud crashing noises echoed through the air, and the ground was covered in a big cloud of dust.

Or at least, that's what he hoped. But he could not expect to lower his guard now.

"Neji, your turn!"

From behind Juugo, the Hyuuga prodigy charged. With the Byakugan activated, he could see clearly their enemy within the cloud of dust: a bright body which seemed to be made purely of chakra. He rushed in, his hands glowing with chakra, and started launching palms after palms at Juugo, who was too busy with the three direct assaults to notice him slipping towards him from behind.

"Shino!"

All of Shino's hive rushed in at once towards the site of collision. This is a matter of life and death; there is no time to be stingy. They latched onto Juugo's body and started draining every bit of chakra they could from him.

For a few seconds, there was no sound except for the wheezing and grinding noises coming from Kiba, Akamaru and Choji. Shikamaru held his breath; did they do it?

The dust cleared, giving him the answer immediately.

_Guess not…_

Juugo was still standing. His two hands were still holding Choji in place. Or more exactly, his two _original _hands. Two more arms, made of the same black substance covering his body, had sprouted from his shoulders, and were now blocking the advance of the two drills which were Kiba and Akamaru.

Shino's insects fell down from Juugo's body one by one, and the Aburame cringed when he saw what happened to them. They were all petrified.

And Neji had to stumble back in fear and pain when he saw both his hands burnt quite badly from touching the body of the man.

Juugo let out a small chuckle. Then he did something unexpected and started walking, pushing Choji back in process. Shikamaru was horrified when he felt his body started moving, closer to where Juugo was.

_What the…? How is it possible…?_

"Mind Transfer Jutsu!"

"What?! Ino, no!"

Shikamaru's scream arrived a second too late, because Ino's soul had already left her body, and with a "whoosh", it soared through the air, and flew into Juugo's body. Ino's real body slumped down to the ground.

For a while, there was no sound in the air, except for the grinding sounds coming from Choji, Kiba and Akamaru.

Then suddenly, her eyes snapped open, and she let out a terrified scream. At the same time, Juugo cackled, and his four arms threw Choji, Akamaru and Kiba away like four mere ragdolls. Despite his buffed weight and mass, Choji found himself flying through the air as if he was just made from cotton. Luckily, he managed to turn back to normal before slamming into Shino who was on his way, so the Aburame boy wasn't flattened under his weight.

Ino curled up into a ball on the ground, shivering like crazy. Shikamaru hastily released his jutsu and grabbed her, but in just a blink of an eye, Juugo was towering over him with his right arm morphed into a cannon barrel.

_So I'm going to die here… what a drag…_

He closed his eyes, waiting for the blow to fall…

"LEAF EXTREME HURRICANE!"

A blur of green rammed into Juugo's body and smashed him away. The mutated man flew over Neji's head, and knocked down another building when his body plunged hard into it with a series of "boom", "crack" and "smash".

With a "thud", Gai landed in front of the sprawling children.

"Fear not! The mighty Green Beast of Konohagakure is here for your assistance!"

"Oh? Then who was the one who _made_ them need assistance at the first place?" Kurenai landed next to him, growling.

_That mutation, _Kakashi thought, _there is no mistake. This man is a member of that clan… But somehow… _

"Do you know him, Kakashi?"

The cyclops jonin shook his head; his eyes didn't leave the man who was crawling out of the rubble. "I don't. But I've faced someone with this ability before, during the Third War. That man was incredibly powerful. Minato-sensei managed to kill him in no time, but… From what Sensei told me, he was a member of the Ryuudou clan, the ones with a special kekkei genkai which allowed them to absorb chakra from the environment…"

What Kakashi had just said sent shiver down all the jonin's backs. They all knew that not everyone could utilize nature chakra. Nature chakra is much, much stronger than chakra in a human body. Only the strongest people who were trained in Sage Arts could harness that incredible power. And if that man was a member of the clan which specialized in using that chakra…

"Kurenai, Asuma, you two bring the genin out of here. I and Gai will deal with him."

Normally, Kurenai would object. But in a situation like this, she knew what she had to do, and what she should do. She nodded, and jumped towards the genin, Asuma behind her.

"We can… still… fight…" Kiba grunted, pushing himself up. Kurenai stopped him.

"I know you can, but not here. There are other places which need us more. Just leave this place to Kakashi and Gai; they can handle it."

From afar, Juugo had managed to shrug all the debris off his body. With a loud roar like an injured beast, he leapt at the Konoha shinobi again, his fist cocked back, ready to deliver a smash of vengeance.

But the movement didn't escape the jonin's eyes.

"Third Gate: Gate of Life… OPEN!"

Gai was the first person to react. Chakra exploded from his body and before anyone else could even move a muscle, he had appeared in the way Juugo was moving and intercepted the mutated man with a nasty kick to the chest. Juugo was knocked away once more, but before he could even touch the ground, the taijutsu master had appeared next to him again and drilled him into the surface of the earth with a punch so powerful it made a human-sized crater in the asphalt.

The bushy brow taijutsu master skidded on the ground, facing the human-shaped hole on the ground warily. And his premonition didn't fail him when Juugo broke out of the asphalt growling madly, bruises covering his body.

"Still has power to fight?" he grinned. "Then it's time for me to show you the full power of my youth!"

He cracked his knuckles, ready to open another Gates…

"Aaaaaaahhhh!"

Heads turned towards Ino, who had just bolted up from all her shivering and trembling.

"Ino? Ino, are you alright?" Asuma slapped her slightly on her cheek.

"It's… it's horrible…" the Yamanaka heiress shuddered, "When I used the Mind Transfer Jutsu on him… I saw something very strange. There are… there are two of him… in his head… But one of them… he was chained and gagged behind… while the other… he looked just like him over there… and when he saw me, he immediately rushed in… he nearly killed my soul in there…"

Kakashi's visible eye narrowed. _Personality disorder?_

"But… the other one… when he saw me…" Ino continued. "His eyes had been lifeless and full of despair, but when he saw me, he started struggling… And the evil one cringed a bit… that's how I was able to get away…"

"So he's like… having some monster inside his body, and cannot control it, and it took control of his body?" Choji pondered.

"Y… yeah… that's what I think… but…"

"Alright, enough talking," Kakashi's voice cut the two children short. "Kurenai, Asuma, genin, go, now!"

The aforementioned people looked at each other in worry, then nodded and jumped away, leaving Kakashi and Gai to deal with the enemy.

Kakashi pulled up his hitai-ate, revealing his Sharingan.

"Gai, change of plan; we will capture him alive."

* * *

><p>Zaku Abumi was scared.<p>

Otogakure shinobi aren't "scared" of anything. All those years of training under Orochimaru had beaten fear out of their systems.

But right now, he could be very sure the sensation he was feeling in his chest was nothing but fear.

Well, who wouldn't, considering the fact that he was tied up by metres of ninja wire and hovering above him was hundreds of sharp, pointy weapons ready to rain down on his head?

Looking away, he saw Dosu, who was in no better condition than him.

"You're such a youthful opponent, Oto-shinobi-san!" he heard his teammate's opponent saying. "But you had tried to harm my comrades, and I, the Beautiful Green Beast of Konoha, cannot tolerate such actions! Because of that… it's time for me to unleash all my power!"

The green brat took out the weights on his legs, and both the Oto shinobi shuddered when the two set of weights reached the ground and made two loud explosions.

And Dosu got pummeled to the ground from every direction.

"STOP RIGHT THERE IF YOU DON'T WANT THE BITCH TO DIE!"

Lee's fist stopped dead right before he could land another blow to Dosu's exposed bloody head. Tenten's hands froze in place as she was about to skewer Zaku with her weapons. Everyone's eyes turned to Kin, who was holding a kunai to Sakura's throat.

"Wait," Lee hastily retreated, and ready to jump towards Kin to rescue his comrade. "Don't…"

"I said. DON'T. MOVE," the Oto kunoichi snarled, pressing the knife into Sakura's throat. Beads of blood could be seen appearing on the pearly skin of the girl.

"No! Don't do it, please!" Lee screamed out desperately. "We will do as you told! Just please… ARGH!"

The fist clad in the sound-generating device of Dosu slammed into Lee's stomach, and suddenly the boy felt excruciating pain, as if his body was going to explode. He gasped out and collapsed to the ground, clutching his stomach.

"You… coward…"

"Lee!" Tenten screamed; she turned her eyes away from Zaku for two seconds, and that was enough to cost her the whole battle. With a loud "whoosh", all the wire tying Zaku up snapped apart, and before the weapon mistress could even do anything, the Oto genin had aimed both his hands at her with a maniacal grin.

"Slicing Sound Wave!"

Tenten was blasted into a tree trunk by the extremely compressed burst of air. She collapsed to the ground, unconscious; all of her weapons also fell down to the ground one by one.

"How dare you… using her as hostage…" Lee gritted out in fury, but Dosu stomped his foot on his head, pushing him to the ground, immobilizing him at the same time.

"That hurt, bastard," the mummy shinobi growled out. He turned back to Kin. "Kill the bitch. I want to see him suffer seeing his precious 'blossom' die."

"With pleasure," the kunoichi smiled sadistically. Her arm holding the kunai raised high, and the deadly knife came down on Sakura's throat.

And her hand was stopped dead on its way by another hand.

"WHAT. ARE. YOU. DOING. TO. MY. DAUGHTER?"

* * *

><p>Clang-clang-clang-clang-clang-CLANG!<p>

Hayate and Genma disengaged from their adversary after a brutal dance of their blades.

The army of mutated monsters couldn't get pass the main gate of Konohagakure. They were held in place by the shinobi of Konoha: Ibiki Morino, the head of the Torture and Interrogation Division, who had just incapacitated five enemies at once with his secret torturing technique; Tsume Inuzuka and her clansmen from the Inuzuka clan, who ripped apart the rank of the army with their signature Fang jutsu; Yugao Uzuki, together with her ANBU team, cutting down experiments after experiments, before a cage of wood rose from the ground, locking a bunch of enemies inside.

The problem was the enemy the two were facing.

This man… he alone would be enough to compensate for the whole army of experiments the others were facing. Different from the other experiments, he was a true ninja. He was definitely trained well to become a weapon. His skills far exceeded ones of other shinobi; facing both Hayate and Genma at the same time, he still fought on par with them, and sometimes he even managed to push them back. His weapons, made of his one bones, were just as strong and sturdy as weapons made of genuine steel.

"Shikotsumyaku…" Genma growled. He had realized who the enemy in front of him was. "Possessing this kekkei genkai… You must be the sole survivor of the Kaguya clan, the only person who was gifted this power… Kimimaro Kaguya… correct?"

The man, now known as Kimimaro, calmly swatted Genma's machete away with one of his bone swords. "I bear that name, indeed. Dance of the Larch."

All over his arms and body, bones sprouted out. They blocked the strikes coming from Genma and Hayate, and as their weapons were locked in place, he spun.

The katana and machete were ripped from their respective wielders' hands. They flew away and impaled the earth with two "thud"s, the blades buried deep into the ground. At the same time, the sharp bones in his body swept across the two disarmed shinobi, leaving deep gashes on their flak jackets, their arms and their thighs.

Kimimaro rushed in like a storm, his bone swords raised high, ready for the final blow…

"Fire Style: Burning Ash!" Genma screamed out desperately, spitting a cloud of gunpowder at the advancing Kaguya. Suddenly assaulted by hot black powder to the face, Kimimaro stopped dead on his track, and was immediately engulfed in a blazing fire ball when Genma pulled out a lighter from his pocket and ignited it.

_Did it work…?_

"Dance of the Clematis!"

The flame was swept away with a loud "whoosh". The bone swords on Kimimaro's hands were now replaced by a long spearlike weapon, which seemed to be made from, disturbingly, a human spine, with smaller bones lining along its length like spikes. Crusts of bones were falling from his body; the Kaguya had covered himself with a layer of bone like an armor to negate the damage.

_A lance, huh…_

Then Kimimaro swung his weapon. The Konoha elite guard was caught completely off guard when the spine stretched out like a snake and wrapped around him.

_What…!? How is this possible…?_

Genma's eyes widened. Those sharp thorns of bone aren't there just for show. When he was completely tied up by the spine, they would impale themselves into his body and kill him from the inside out.

The match is becoming more and more one-sided. If he doesn't do anything…

Everything happened in five seconds. Genma kicked the ground and leapt up, right before the whip-spear could close up against him, then threw a handful of shuriken at Kimimaro. The Kaguya followed his movement on the air idly, and flicked his right arm. The whip-spear stretched like a snake, curling itself on the air and writhing around, blocking the way of the throwing stars easily and lashing out at Genma at the same time. The Konoha shinobi pulled out two kunai to parry them, and the noise of steel clashing with calcium echoed through the air.

The whip managed to graze Genma's shoulder, and he winced; there were something in that bone which made him feel like his arm was disintegrating. He slumped down to the ground, and in a blink of an eye, Kimimaro was in front of him, his right arm now had something like a huge drill made of calcium grated into it.

The menacing weapon descended down his head, and Genma couldn't even blink; his head was going to be drilled to bits. What a terrible way to die…

CLANG!

Kimimaro stumbled back when the blade of a katana collided with his drill-arm.

"You're not gonna kill my comrade that easily, when I'm still here."

Too absorbed into the fight, both Genma and the Kaguya had forgotten that they're not the only fighters in the field.

Hayate was now standing between the two shinobi. On his hands, in a double grip, was a sword no one had ever seen him using before. It was a six feet long nodachi, much longer than the normal katana he preferred using. The blade glimmered in sunlight, and anyone who looked closely could realize the shade of red gleaming across the cold steel. Hayate didn't move the sword an inch, yet the air around the blade hummed slightly as if the sword itself was singing.

"This… this is…"

"A new sword…" Kimimaro glanced at the nodachi on the Konoha swordmaster's hands impassively. Hayate glared back at him; anyone who paid close attention might see the corner of his mouth rising up slightly.

"It's time to even the odds."

* * *

><p>"Gai!"<p>

"On it! Leaf Searing Wind!"

The Fifth Gate-buffed rolling kick tore through the air, burning a trail of flame on its way before slamming into Juugo's body and sending him flying across the air. He crashed into a thick wall of earth which has five dog heads made of mud engraved into it. Immediately, the ground cracked open and from underground, mud surged up, covered Juugo and hardened immediately, immobilizing him.

"Did we get him?" Gai stared at the mud statue in front of them.

"No, not yet," Kakashi shook his head.

And right on cue, the statue exploded, showing an enraged Juugo inside. His transformation had advanced even further: all the skin on his body had turned completely dark, and his eye color had changed from white and ruby red to black with yellow irises. A black stripe ran from the middle of his forehead down the bridge of his nose. Some kind of strange black horn which looked like a happuri covered his face. And from his back, jet booster-like cylinders had sprouted out and were now all aiming at the two Konoha shinobi.

_This is not gonna be pretty…_

A giant beam of chakra shot out towards the Konoha jonin with a loud cry of glee from Juugo. It was so large; there's no way the two jonin could avoid it…!

_No choice… I will have to use this, and finish this battle fast!_

Kakashi's Sharingan morphed into its Mangekyo Sharingan form.

"Kamui!"

Space twisted. A wormhole opened right on the way of the beam and swallowed it whole right before it could vaporize the two jonin. The beam struggled to pass through, but even with all those power, there was no way it could cut through the fabric of dimensions.

From somewhere far away, a certain Akatsuki member with a swirly mask suddenly cringed and silently thanked the god he wasn't using his ability right now.

After three seconds, the beam finally lost its power and died down.

"Seventh Gate, Gate of Wonder… OPEN! DAYTIME TIGER!"

And Juugo found himself swallowed by a tiger made of pure compressed air. He screamed out in pain; even when his body was enhanced to the maximum limit with his Sage Transformation, the technique's power was still too incredible for it to handle. The technique rushed passed him and exploded, taking down another rather large chunk of Konohagakure with it.

Juugo was sent sprawling away. Blood spewed out from his mouth; never before had there been anyone who could injure him this much. But his body would heal up soon anyway, thanks to the nature chakra…

Then he saw Kakashi rushing in; the man's right hand was glowing blue with the symbol of a kanji letter on each of his fingertips.

"Five Elements Seal!"

* * *

><p><em>What the…?<em>

Orochimaru was startled when he felt Juugo's immense chakra suddenly disappearing.

_How could Juugo be defeated? Are Konoha shinobi that strong?_

"What's wrong, Orochimaru?" the voice of his old teacher rose next to his ears. "Finally realized that you will never be able to destroy Konoha as you wish?"

"SHUT UP! WHY! WON'T! YOU! DIE! ALREADY!"

Orochimaru snarled angrily. The old senile just didn't know when to give up. He was 69 years old already, and he was slower and weaker than him! And yet, somehow, Orochimaru couldn't land the killing blow. In fact, he was being pushed back, bits by bits.

The Kusanagi was a deadly weapon. Not only was it incredibly sharp, sturdy and able to stretch as long as the user wanted, the poison in, not on, the blade was so lethal one scratch it made on a person's skin could ensure a very painful death. One stab of the sword, and the victim would be as good as perishing.

But that's if he managed to land a stab in the first place.

Orochimaru cursed mentally. If only he could use a jutsu…

"How many times do I have to explain to you… Do you know the reason why you're weak, Orochimaru?"

The snake man raised his katana to block the staff swinging at his midsection. "Weak? Ha! Don't make me laugh!" He struggled, pushing the old man back. "I have mastered hundreds of jutsu, killed a Kage, and got a hand on immortality already! And after I kill you…"

"You still don't understand. Oh, but it is obvious," the Hokage chuckled. "True power can only be acquired by fighting for the sake of the others. How can someone like you, who abandoned his village, abandoned his comrades, abandoned even his followers, understand that simple fact?"

"Fuck you, old geezer!" Orochimaru spat. "If those puny weaklings out there are that important to you, I'll make you die in regret and despair when my army crushes them to bits!"

"Crush them?" Sarutobi chuckled again. "You have overestimated yourself too much, Orochimaru. Konoha shinobi are strong not because they have kekkei genkai, powerful ninjutsu or incredible chakra. They are strong because they always fight with all their hearts to protect the ones they love…"

* * *

><p>"Ugh!"<p>

Iruka kneeled on the ground, breathing heavily.

In front of him, corpses of Oto shinobi littered the corridor.

He had fought valiantly. With only two kunai and a few shuriken as weapons, he had fended off the whole group of invaders, and even managed to kill a few of them.

But that was still not enough. There were still five more left. And they were advancing towards him, their weapon raised high.

"You bastard," the one in the middle snarled. "How dare you killing half of our squad like that! I'll kill you!"

"Like you're the one to talk, after trying to kill our students," Iruka shot back between gasps. The wounds on his body were bleeding badly. But he wouldn't back out; no, not when the lives of his students were being threatened!

"You're not in the position to talk big now, teacher," the Oto shinobi laughed cruelly.

Iruka gritted his teeth. His head was getting light due to the blood loss, and his muscles felt weak. He forced himself to stand up; if he didn't finish this fast…

"Gah!"

A kunai lodged into his stomach. It's not like he didn't see that coming; he just couldn't move to dodge it. Iruka slumped back down on the ground; the two kunai he was holding slipped off his hands, falling to the wooden floor.

"What's wrong, oh so mighty teacher? Does it hurt?" The voice of an Oto ninja rose above his head mockingly. "I was going to finish you quickly, but you have humiliated us so badly we cannot stand it. So, prepare to feel pain."

And Iruka felt another kunai stabbing his right arm, piercing clean through the bones. He howled in pain; it was too much, too excruciating… If only the bastard just cut it off cleanly…

"It is painful, isn't it? But it's not done yet; there is more! And more! And more!"

The Oto shinobi added each "more" with a stab to Iruka's body. All the others burst out laughing each time the kunai pierced the poor chuunin's skin, flesh and bone.

_You… bastards…_

"And you're dead now!" The torturer announced, and the kunai descended, ready to deal the decisive blow to Iruka's heart. The chuunin could only lie on the ground helplessly; his body couldn't move anymore; there was no way he could avoid death this time…

"NO!"

"What!? You're…! Guh!"

"Gah!"

"Ugh!"

"No! Ahh!"

"Ahhh!"

What's happening? He could hear the sounds, but couldn't see… Was someone fighting the Oto shinobi in his place?

"No, Iruka-kun! No no no…! Please don't die…!"

The voice of a woman echoing around his ears was the last thing he knew before everything sank completely into darkness.

* * *

><p>"…When people precious to them are in danger, they can become much, much more powerful than anything you can imagine…"<p>

* * *

><p>"I said, WHAT. ARE YOU DOING. TO MY DAUGHTER?" Mebuki Haruno growled out in fury, squeezing the arm on her hand harder.<p>

"What the… Release me old hag! I'll kill you for this!" Kin screeched, glaring at the woman who was gripping her arm. And that was her biggest mistake.

"Wrong answer."

SNAP!

Kin howled in agony when her right arm was broken like a twig by the seemingly harmless civilian woman behind her. Her kunai fell from her now useless hand to the ground and embedded itself on the grassy earth with a "thud". And before she could even do anything, she felt herself lifted up by the neck.

"Get out of here, or I'll break her neck," the scary woman growled at Zaku and Dosu. The situation was reversed once again; the one who took hostage now became the hostage herself.

Instead of backing down, Zaku raised his hands, blasting another burst of sound wave at Kin and the two Haruno. The older woman pulled the other two aside, and the blast rushed pass them, bringing down a large chunk of the wall behind.

"You… You dare throwing away the life of your teammate like that?" Mebuki asked, thoroughly disgusted.

"This is not the time to worry about other people, hag!" Zaku laughed arrogantly. "Continuous Slicing Sound Wave!"

Blasts after blasts of airwave rained down Mebuki's head. But even though she was holding the two girls on her arms while dodging left and right frantically, the woman didn't seem to get any kind of tiredness or discomfort.

Her movements… they were definitely not the movements of a civilian. They were the movements of a veteran kunoichi.

And that veteran kunoichi's eyes were gleaming dangerously at Zaku.

"W-wait, what… are you… AAAAAAAAHHHH!"

Kin could only scream out those words when the older woman suddenly grabbed her collar and threw her at Zaku at the speed of a cannonball. But rather than catching her, Zaku blasted her out of the way with another Slicing Sound Wave. The girl crashed into the ground; her broken arm was hanging at a very strange angle. Blood spurted out of her mouth.

"Zaku, you fool!" Dosu yelled at his teammate. "What the fuck are you doing, shooting down teammates like that?"

"So what?" The haughty Oto genin snapped back. "She's on the way!"

"Idiot! Do you realize how screwed we are right now? That woman is not a normal civilian; she must be at least a chuunin-level kunoichi!" Dosu screamed out; he was the only one of the team who realized the danger. "And you went around and disabled your own teammate like that!"

"Oh please! I'll bring her down in one shot!" Zaku snorted. "Slicing Sound… Guh!"

All the air in his lungs was pushed out due to Mebuki's fist burying in his gut.

But it was nothing. The punch _really _hurt, but it was nothing he couldn't handle. His training in Otogakure was much worse than this.

"I-is that all you go… waaaaahhhh?!"

"SHAAAAAAANNAROOOOOO!"

And Zaku felt himself lifted off the ground. He weighted sixty kilograms, and yet he was launched away like a ragdoll just from a punch from a seemingly fragile woman.

_What… the fuck…?!_

"Sakura-san inherited that strength from her mother… So youthful…" Lee muttered in awe.

Zaku was sent rolling on the ground. His face skidded on the hard concrete of the hospital yard painfully.

"A… argh… Fucking bitch…" he choked out.

"I already told you, idiot," Dosu muttered. He made a leap towards the blonde woman, intending to punch her head off from behind. The Haruno woman spun on her heels, catching Dosu's fist on her hand. He smirked; the woman was a fool, his weapon is most effective at this range.

Chakra rushed into the device. This woman is too dangerous; he will need to put everything he has into this blast…!

Then…

BOOM!

To his shock, horror and pain, the device suddenly exploded violently, taking his left arm and a chunk of flesh on the right side of his body together with it. A slight shockwave of chakra washed through the yard, and Dosu slumped to the ground.

"W… what have you done…?" he gasped weakly, glaring at the woman who was now towering over him.

"A lesson for you: never use such a large amount of chakra in an over-reinforced weapon, it will just cause you more harm than good," was the cold answer coming from the Leaf woman.

_She… overloaded my weapon with her own chakra… in just that instant…_

Now Dosu understood. That woman… She didn't have superior firepower, didn't have superhuman strength, didn't even have vast amount of chakra… What she had just done… it's not even a jutsu. With just simple reinforcement of her body with chakra, she had knocked them all down… easily…

The blonde woman turned away. "You have made a very big mistake trying to harm my daughter. Just lie there and face your retribution."

"Ugh… what happened…?" Tenten groaned, finally waking up. She gasped upon seeing the curb stomp battle in front of her eyes.

"It was so youthful!" said Lee enthusiastically. "I've never know Sakura-san's mother was this strong! No wonder why Sakura-san is so awesome…! I'LL HAVE TO PUSH MYSELF EVEN MORE…"

"ENOOOOOOOOOUGH!"

Everyone's head snapped back. Zaku had stood up; both his arms were aiming at the Konoha shinobi and his chakra was spiking up dangerously.

"Konoha bastards… I'LL BLOW ALL YOU AWAY!"

"No!" The three Konoha shinobi sprang up on their feet, but they knew it was hopeless. No one was fast enough to stop him. That jutsu will bring down everything, the hospital, the shinobi, everything…

"Ultimate Supersonic Slicing…"

"No, you won't."

And Zaku felt his heart exploding before he could unleash his jutsu. Literally. He gasped out his last breath and fell to the ground, dead.

Hiashi Hyuuga glared at the body from behind distastefully.

"I'm not here to see what you were up to."

"Still as ruthless as ever, Hiashi," Mebuki noted with a smile. The Hyuuga head didn't even smile back. He looked around.

"I thought you had gone evacuated, Haruno-san. Where is your husband?"

"My husband is assisting the evacuation in the hospital now," Mebuki replied. "And seriously, all those years and you still couldn't get that stick out of your ass?"

"Wait," Lee blurted out staring at the two adults in front of him. "You two know each other?"

Hiashi kept silence, but the Haruno lady answered. "Of course we know each other. We used to be in the same team: me, my husband and him. But I retired after I married Kizashi and had Sakura, so it's natural you don't hear about me very much. My name is Mebuki Haruno, by the way."

"Mebuki… Mebuki…" Tenten muttered in her breath. Why does that name sound so familiar?

"Wait," she asked when Mebuki started lifting her daughter up bridal style. "Are you, by any chance, related to Mebuki Takamachi?"

"Hmm?" The Haruno lady blinked. "Well, it was my birth name, before I married Kizashi, but…"

"No. FREAKING. WAY. You're THAT Mebuki Takamachi? The kunoichi who made chuunin with nothing but taijutsu and Reinforcement technique?"

Everyone stared at Tenten, who was holding her mouth, her eyes widened.

"You are so cool! Can I have your autograph please? Can you train me? I want to become a powerful kunoichi like you and Tsunade-sama! Please please please…"

Everyone sweatdropped.

"Did I just get a fangirl, Hiashi?" Mebuki looked at her ex-teammate. The Hyuuga didn't answer, but anyone who paid attention could see a slight smirk on his face.

"Now you know the horror of having fangirls, Haruno-san."

"Oh shut up."

* * *

><p>"…And never forget; Konoha never betrays others, so our friends will always be here for us in need…"<p>

* * *

><p>"Captain! Suna has turned against us; they're attacking all of our bases right now!"<p>

"What? How is that possible… Argh!"

A blade of wind slashed through the tent, decapitating the Oto captain and his subordinate with a nasty "squelch".

"Suna shinobi! FOR SUNAGAKURE! FOR THE KAZEKAGE! FOR OUR LONG-LASTING ALLIANCE!"

The Oto force couldn't even know what had hit them.

* * *

><p>Kimimaro narrowed his eyes looking at the new sword on his opponent's hands.<p>

He didn't know what was so special about that sword. But even so, when he looked at the blade, he could feel some strange sensations crawling up his skin. Could it be…?

He shrugged it away. Lowering his stance, he charged at the swordsman, his drill-arm surging forward, intending to impale his enemy.

With a weapon as big and heavy as his bone drill, blocking is not an option. It will just crush through whatever his enemy uses to block easily as if they were made of paper.

And to his surprise, his enemy didn't even seem to have any intention to dodge or block. Instead, he made a wide, fast swing aiming at his shoulder, clearly intending to cleave him in half.

But an attack like this was nothing. He raised his drill-arm, and the blade of the sword was stopped dead on its track. His bones are as hard as steel; blocking something like this is just a child's play…

Then he felt pain. Several gashes suddenly appeared on his chest from nowhere. He gasped out and leapt back, but the damage was done; blood was now leaking out of the wounds on his chest, and his white haori was shredded into bits of cloth on the ground.

But he didn't have time to panic, as the swordsman had already closed in again, and launched an uppercut at him. This time, Kimimaro didn't dare being rash; bones burst out from under his skin, covering his whole body right before the blade could connect. The blade clashed with the bone armor, cutting it into pieces, but couldn't damage the Oto ninja any further.

The two ninja disengaged, and Kimimaro retreated a few steps, while looking at his opponent calculatingly.

"You fought better," he noted. It's very hard to believe the man could still keep his calm demeanor after that. "Especially after bringing out that sword. What is it? It is definitely not a normal sword."

Hayate chuckled. "Good for you to realize it. But will you survive long enough to know of its special power?"

The swordsman closed in again. The length of his weapon gave him a clear advantage. But this time, Kimimaro had anticipated it and leapt back before it could deal any damage to him. And he realized it.

"So that's its ability," he muttered. "When you strike with that sword, not only one, but at least three slashes come out… This sword can cut through space-time to deliver an unavoidable series of slashes at the same time… Dangerous ability, indeed."

"Realize it, huh?" Hayate smirked. "Then you need to know that when Muramasa is drawn, blood will shed. You are such a formidable enemy you have the honor to taste its blade."

"Indeed," Kimimaro answered calmly. "But I wonder whose blood will shed if you continue to use that sword longer."

_So he figured that out too…_

Muramasa, the sword named after its creator, the famous swordsmith Sengo Muramasa, was not a normal sword. It was said to be so sharp that it could cut through even the fabric of dimensions, but it was also said to be a bloodthirsty sword which drained its wielder's blood each time it was unsheathed. Hayate had inherited the sword from his deceased kenjutsu master, but he never dared to use it, because of the deadly drawback.

And right now, his hands and forearms were, indeed, bleeding quite badly. He was starting to feel light-headed from losing blood.

"Heh, so what?" Despite the pain wrecking through his body, Hayate still smirked. "This is more than enough to handle you. And I will finish you in the next strike!" he bluffed, hoping his opponent would catch it and back down.

And he caught it, indeed. But instead of backing down…

"You are right. Then I think it's time for me to use my full power."

Sweat formed on the swordsman's forehead when strange black markings started spreading out from a strange symbol on Kimimaro's chest. _Not good…_

"You are not fighting alone! Leaf Style: Crescent Moon Dance!"

Kimimaro snapped his head back to see three Genma leaping at him, their machetes swinging at him, aiming for his neck, his waist and his legs.

SQUELCH!

The three Genma were impaled with extreme prejudice by a barrage of bones shot out from Kimimaro's body. Kimimaro didn't bother to look back again; his eyes returned to Hayate, who, with his sword, was ready to charge in again.

He completely missed the slight smirk blooming on one of the Genma's face.

BOOM!

The Genma clones exploded with an incredible force.

Different from what people think, the Clone Explosion jutsu is not that hard to learn and use. As long as the user can use the Shadow Clone Jutsu effectively, the Clone Explosion can be a great addition to his arsenal if he wants things to blow up.

And it can become even deadlier if the clones used are buffed with elemental chakra, like Genma was doing right now. Soon, the clearing was drowned in fire.

The real Genma ran back to where Hayate was clutching his arm in pain. "Are you all right?"

"Yeah, I'm alright…" answered the swordsman with a heavy sigh. "I didn't expect I needed to unseal this sword, though… That guy is so strong…"

"I know…" the elite guard agreed. "But it seems we got him…"

"No, you didn't."

The two Konoha shinobi snapped their heads up in shock.

From within the inferno, Kimimaro walked out. There were some burning marks on his body, but they were quickly covered by the dark skin similar to what was on the other experiments' bodies. His body had now morphed into a form similar to a dinosaur, with six large bone spikes sprouting out of his back and a long tail, also spiked with bones. Dark power was radiating from him, sending shivers down the two Konoha shinobi's spines.

"You are very strong, Konoha shinobi. You have pushed me to the point I have to resort to this. But now, it's over."

_So strong… I could even feel his chakra from here… Is he… even human…?_

Hayate raised his sword, but his eyes suddenly widened, and he collapsed on the ground. Using Muramasa had taken too much from his body; he couldn't even stand properly any more.

_Damn it… is this really the end…?_

"DANCE OF THE SEE…"

"WIND SCYTHE JUTSU!"

Before Kimimaro could unleash his final jutsu, he was blown away by a massive tornado. The man flew through the trees in the forest, his body crashed into the ground painfully.

"What…?"

All three combatants exclaimed at the same time when thirty Sunagakure shinobi landed around them.

"Sorry for being late, Konoha friends," the leader of the group, Baki, glanced back at Genma and Hayate. "From now on, just leave this to us."

* * *

><p>"No… This cannot be!"<p>

Orochimaru exclaimed in horror seeing all of his plans collapsed piece by piece in front of his eyes. The old Sarutobi smiled triumphantly in answer.

"Yes, it can, and it already happened! Your army was crushed, your most powerful subordinates were defeated, and your ally had turned against you. You have failed, Orochimaru!"

Orochimaru's pale face turned a brilliant purple shade with fury. Everything he had spent months to plan, the elite forces he had spent years to train, the experiments he had spent years to create and perfect, were now all crumbling to dust, because of a senile old man and the ragtag bunch of misfits he called his "shinobi"!

It cannot be! He is Orochimaru! He is the one who got closest to the secret of immortality! How could he be defeated so easily and shamefully?!

"At least if I cannot destroy Konoha, I can destroy _you_ instead!" he snarled. He swung Kusanagi in a deadly arc at the old Hokage's shoulder, intending to cleave him in half, but the old man just nimbly dodged to a side, and the sword just slashed at air.

"You are desperate, Orochimaru," the old man continued to taunt him, in his annoyingly calm voice. "You are so desperate that you have to resort to Impure World Reanimation to fight me. Your movement is slowing down. And do you really think that I couldn't figure out the trick behind that jutsu?"

_What…?_

"Tobirama-sensei, when he first invented that jutsu, didn't note anything about its drawbacks into the Forbidden Scroll. Now I understand why he did that; he had been confident that only he could use the jutsu effectively, and anyone who dared using it to bring back someone powerful would suffer from the consequence. That's the reason why you cannot use any ninjutsu after that, and also the reason you have to erase their personalities; you don't have enough chakra to balance with the people you summoned, and you're too scared of them overcoming your control!"

_Shit… He already figured it out…!_

He cannot risk it any more; he needs to retreat now, and come back some other days…!

"It's too late to back down now, Orochimaru. You're within my Divine Zodiac Sealing Formation!"

Orochimaru's head snapped back when the words of Jiraiya reached his ears. He was standing within a sealing formation on the ground, drawn from Jiraiya's blood in the shape of a circle with the symbols of the 12 Zodiacs covering it.

Being an adept in Fuinjutsu himself, this seal was not something Orochimaru was unfamiliar with. Designed by Mito Uzumaki herself, it was the most powerful Fuinjutsu Konohagakure possessed, even stronger than the Eight Trigram Sealing Style Minato Namikaze had used to seal the Kyuubi. It was designed to continuously and rapidly absorb the chakra of the individual targeted without fail. There was a rumor that the Uzumaki woman had used this seal to seal the Kyuubi into herself.

And right now, Orochimaru was standing right on top of it.

The dead last had spent all those time, when the Hokage was fending him off, to prepare this…!

"SEAL!"

And immediately, Orochimaru felt drained. Every bit of chakra seemed to leave his body at once; he couldn't even feel his leg any more; his body collapsed on the ground, and his body screamed out in agony. The three zombie Kage suddenly halted their movements, as there was not enough chakra pumping into the control talismans in their heads to keep them in bound any more. He desperately leapt up, intending to get away from the draining circle under him, but suddenly, arms made of rock and magma burst out from the ground and grabbed his body, stopping him from moving completely.

There was no other choice for him. His mouth gaped wide, and from the inside, another body crawled out, allowing him to get away.

And by doing that, he had put the final nail on his coffin himself.

"And this is the end," Sarutobi finished, then with a very quick swing, the Adamantine Staff finally met the targets it had been following all the times: the heads of the three zombie Kage, and the control talismans inside of them.

Orochimaru's eyes widened when the three dead Kage reformed again, but this time, their eyes had regained the fire of their own wills coming back.

"**Ah, this is much better," **Tobirama cracked his neck. **"It feels great to have control of my body again."**

"**So that is the one who dared summon us back in our full power," **Hashirama noted, glaring at Orochimaru who had just landed a few steps away.

"No… I'm not going to be defeated like this!" Orochimaru screamed, and clapped his hands. From underground, three coffins burst out and swallowed the three resurrected Kage, and started sinking down into the ground again.

_At least I still have them in my hands… and the next time, everything will be different! _Orochimaru thought when the coffin containing the Kazekage disappeared into the ground completely. He looked at the Sound Four, and they dispelled the barrier around the stadium, ready to depart.

Then suddenly, the two coffins containing the two Hokage shone brightly and exploded.

_What the…? How…?_

"**Fool," **the voice of Tobirama suddenly rose right next to his ears. **"Next time, if you want to resurrect someone, don't ever choose the jutsu's creator himself who is much stronger than you and knows things about the jutsu that you cannot ever know."**

And Orochimaru felt his body cut in half, courtesy of the Second Hokage's Flying Thunder God Slash. Snakes crawled out from the two halves of his body, reconnecting them, but he knew that he wouldn't last very long.

Not against three most powerful Hokage in the history, the Mizukage, and Jiraiya at the same time.

"Heh. Hehehehehe…"

"Seems he finally lost it," Mei noted.

"YOU WON'T GET ME THAT EASILY! EIGHT BRANCHES JUTSU!"

And everyone was sent flying. The stadium exploded when a gigantic serpent with eight heads and eight tails exploded from Orochimaru's body. It's just like a Tailed Beast was suddenly unleashed right inside the village…!

The civilians, who were sleeping soundly under Kakashi's genjutsu before, were all flung into the sky, and were now falling into the ground in a dangerous speed. They would all die before anyone could do anything…

"**Wood Style: Cushioning Flowerbed!"**

From everywhere within Konoha, flowers of all colors suddenly bloomed. They looked very fragile, but they took the collisions from the falling civilians easily as if they were made from the best type of rubber available to human. All the flying people landed on top of the flowerbed, completely unharmed.

"**Seems this trick still works," **The First Hokage said with a smile.

"Wow, this is incredible!" Mei said in awe. Mizukage or not, she is still a woman. And women like pretty things, no exception.

"We cannot let this snake destroy the village!" Jiraiya bellowed, snapping everyone out of their trances. The snake was now scrambling around, trying to crush everything it could reach. From one of its mouths, Orochimaru emerged, cackling madly.

"See that, old geezer? SEE THAT? NO MATTER WHAT YOU DO, YOU WON'T STOP ME FROM DESTROYING KONOHA! HAHAHAHA!"

"**I will take it out of the village first," **Tobirama glanced back at the other shinobi. He jumped on the serpent, and with a bright flash, both snake and man disappeared from view, only to appear in the forest a few miles from Konoha.

Sarutobi looked at his helpers. "Alright, let's gooo…"

Before he could finish the sentence, he had collapsed on the ground. The battle before, using a lot of jutsu and the Gates had drained him so much he had no more strength to even stand properly.

But his body didn't reach the ground, because Jiraiya had managed to catch him on his arms. The old Hokage looked at his student, regret filling his eyes.

"I'm sorry Jiraiya… It seems I can only do this much…"

The Toad Sage let out a chuckle. "Believe it or not, you're old, sensei. Just take a nice rest. We will take it from here."

"That's great," Sarutobi breathed out, and his body went limp, his eyes closed. Jiraiya looked back at Mei, who was walking towards them.

"Lady Mizukage, can I entrust my sensei to you?"

Mei answered him with a smile. "Of course, Jiraiya-sama." She took the old man from Jiraiya's hands, and the Toad Sage looked back at Hashirama.

"So Lord First, are you going?"

The ex-Hokage grinned. **"You're Saru's student, right? It seems he had trained you very well. Of course I'll come with you."**

"Then… SUMMONING JUTSU!"

With a loud "pop" and a big cloud of smoke, Gamabunta the Toad Boss appeared in the stadium ruin.

"Bunta, see that snake over there?" Jiraiya pointed at the white serpent from afar. "We need to go there and stop it!"

"**What?" **Gamabunta grumbled unhappily. **"It's been so long since you last summoned me, and the first thing you do is asking me to fight for you? And that snake… Isn't that the Eight Branches Jutsu? Who dare use that disgusting technique?"**

"Orochimaru. Now, are we going or not Bunta? I'll have a drink with you later," Jiraiya answered exasperatedly. Hearing the name, the Chief Toad didn't complain any more, but he was still grumbling something which sounded like "ungrateful brats" in his throat. With an incredible leap, the toad took off, bringing the two shinobi back to the battlefield.

* * *

><p>"What was that?!"<p>

Temari started in horror when she felt the ground shook as a giant serpent with eight heads and eight tails suddenly appeared from nowhere and landed on the ground about two miles away from where they were.

"Think we should go there and check?" Sasuke looked at Naruto, whose head was also looking at the direction.

Naruto nodded in worry. "Yeah, I think…"

Then he thought of Gaara who was still sleeping on his shoulder. What should he do now…?

His eyes glanced at the sky, and a smile suddenly appeared on his face.

"On second thought, we don't need to. Let's just leave it to Pervy Sage and his companions."

One second later, Gamabunta landed on the ground with another slight earthquake.

* * *

><p>For a climactic battle, it's kinda disappointing that the final battle was totally one-sided.<p>

Even if you are, or have become the legendary monster Yamata-no-Orochi, the monster known to have needed the power of a god to slay, facing the three people who might be considered the most powerful in the whole history of the world, including one who was considered the fastest human and the ultimate master of Water in his era, the Toad Sage of Mount Myoboku together with the Chief Toad Gamabunta, and the man who was known as the God of Shinobi, armed with the power which could subdue even the most powerful Tailed Beast and Madara Uchiha at the same time… well…

"**Sage Art Wood Style: True Several Thousand Hands!"**

And it's not a very bright idea to piss them off too, you know. Or try to destroy their village.

The thousand hands surged forward from the giant wood statue, impaling the writhing body of the serpent which was rampaging around, furious as its target had been robbed. The giant snake screeched in pain, thrashing around wildly as the chakra inside its body was being suppressed by the wood stakes. The eight scaly heads raised high, and from the mouths, snakes burst out, within each of which a copy of the Kusanagi poked out, aiming at the three Leaf shinobi.

"**Water Style: Water Slicing Wave!"**

But the snake couldn't even reach their targets. The very sharp wave of water coming from the Second Hokage's mouth had cut them into pieces when they're still in the air, and snake meat rained down the forest clearing.

"**Sage Art: Gate of the Great God, Sixteen Seals!**"

From the sky, sixteen torii gates fell down and trapped the tails and heads under them, completely locking the serpent from moving again.

"Now it's our turn Bunta!"

"**You don't need to remind me!"**

"**Sage** Art **Collaboration**: Fire **Style**: Toad **Flame** Bomb!"

And the snake, together with a whole one mile radius of the forest was drown in a sea of fire coming from the Toad Sage. For a while, no sound could be heard except for the cracking and burning noise of the trees and the agony screeching coming from the snake.

Finally, the flame died down, and Jiraiya jumped down from Gamabunta's back. He grabbed Orochimaru's neck which was now poking out of a lifeless mouth of the dead snake body.

"Any last word, Orochimaru?" he growled. The Snake Sannin just glared at him and sneered.

"Think that's enough to stop me, fool? You can kill my body here, but you're not going to get rid of me that easily. Soon, I'll come back, stronger than ever, and you'll all pay for humiliating me today! HAHAHAHAHA!"

Jiraiya's eyes narrowed. But then, they closed, and to Orochimaru's surprise, a sad smile appeared on the Toad Sage's mouth.

"You know Orochimaru… Since the time we're in Team 7, I've always admired you. No matter how hard I tried, you're always the better person. Everyone had always favored you over me… Sometimes, I was so jealous of you… But no matter what, I still consider you the best friend I've ever had… If you turn your head, we can give you a chance…"

Orochimaru seemed stunned in a second.

Then…

"Heh. Heh. HAHAHAHA! Oh, this is so rich!" he laughed like a mad man. "The dead last wants to give me a chance! Like hell I need the pity of Konoha losers! Just kill me and be done with it!"

And he spat on Jiraiya's face.

The Toad Sage didn't say anything for five seconds. At the sixth, he opened his eyes, and the stern expression once again returned to his face.

"Very well. If that was your choice…"

He opened his hand, and a Rasengan appeared on his palm.

"Good bye, Orochimaru," he said and thrust the deadly ball of chakra into Orochimaru's torso. Enhanced with nature chakra, the jutsu easily drilled through the body and tore apart all the Snake Sannin's organs to shred.

And with that, the invasion of Konoha came to a close.

Jiraiya threw the body to the ground, and used a quick fire jutsu to incinerate it. Then he turned and walked away, back to the village.

"Jiraiya-kun, are you all right?" On his shoulder, Lady Shima asked worriedly.

The man didn't answer, but if anyone paid attention, they could see one, and only one drop of tears trickling down his cheek.

* * *

><p>"<strong>Well well well… This is getting interesting…"<strong>

* * *

><p><strong>Definition<strong>

**Creation: Weapon Projection Jutsu**

**Classification: Ninjutsu**

**Rank: B**

**Class: Support, Offensive**

**Range: Close to Mid-ranged**

**A ninjutsu invented by Naruto Uzumaki, based on his knowledge about Creation of All Things. The user shapes his chakra into the design of a weapon whose blueprint is created, or recreated, inside the user's mind. That weapon can be used to fight normally, or be multiplied and launched at the enemies as projectiles. The more detailed the user knows about the weapon itself, and the higher the density of the user's chakra is, the more durable the weapons projected will be. Because of that, not many people can use this jutsu effectively, and the more complicated the weapon is, the harder it is to project.**

**Water Style: Spring Burst**

**Classification: Ninjutsu**

**Rank: C**

**Class: Support**

**Range: Close-ranged**

**Developed by Jiraiya, this jutsu utilizes the user's Water element chakra to stimulate the activity of the groundwater veins underground, in order to pull the water to the surface, making a temporary supply for the user in case he is in need of water in an urgent situation. This is a fairly easy jutsu to use, as long as the user has access to Water element chakra.**

**Wood Style: Cushioning Flowerbed**

**Classification: Ninjutsu**

**Rank: C**

**Class: Support**

**Range: Self to Close-ranged**

**A ninjutsu utilizing Wood Style. The user creates a patch of flowers on the ground to catch someone falling from a high place. The flowers are so strong and durable they can handle the weight of a lot of people and objects. The First Hokage also usually used this jutsu to decorate Konohagakure during his reign.**

**Divine Zodiac Sealing Formation**

**Classification: Fuinjutsu**

**Rank: S**

**Class: Offensive, Support**

**Range: Close-ranged**

**The most powerful sealing jutsu known to Konohagakure, originated from Uzushiogakure. This sealing jutsu can be applied on a human's body, an object, or even the ground itself. The user draws the sealing formation with his own blood with the shapes of the twelve divine zodiacs surrounding the sealing circle. Anything standing inside the sealing circle will have its chakra drained into the object the circle is on very quickly and without failure, no exception. The chakra will stay inside the sealing vessel until they are broken, or the user decides to release the seal himself. Mito Uzumaki had sealed Kurama into her own body using this fuinjutsu: she drew the sealing formation onto her stomach then latched herself on Kurama's body until the vixen was completely sealed inside her body.**

* * *

><p><strong>And thus, the Invasion of Konoha ended, with a different climax this time.<strong>

**So there, the reason why Naruto didn't go all out right from the start of the battle against Gaara. You all know what Naruto, using a little bit of Kurama's chakra, could do against Neji, the genius of the Hyuuga clan, armed with the ultimate defense technique of the Gentle Fist. And a Rasengan he used with Version 1 chakra cloak during the battle at the Valley of the End was able to match the power of a Chidori, a jutsu known to be equal at power to the Rasengan, enhanced with nature chakra. And that's when he only had the Yang half of Kurama inside him. So I think it makes sense that right now, with Kurama at full power and 8 other Tailed Beasts to boot, his power will be buffed to silly level uncontrollably.**

**Some of you might think that I nerfed the Impure World Reanimation too much. But actually, if you think about it back to when the invasion happened in canon, you will see that Orochimaru didn't use any jutsu other than the Kusanagi and taijutsu after the two Hokage were summoned. In my opinion, that means he couldn't afford to lose any chakra, and there must be some reasons behind it, because come on, he was fighting the Hokage himself! So there, the idea of the jutsu needing the user's chakra level as anchor came to me, and I thought, why not?**

**And if that's the case, how could Kabuto summon and control so many reanimated shinobi at the same time during the Fourth Shinobi World War? Simple; he was in Sage Mode the whole time! With Juugo's ability to passively recharge nature chakra constantly, his chakra level in Sage Mode was, technically, infinite. And there was nothing greater than infinity.**

**Anyway, Orochimaru was killed. No one... well, no one important, died. Gaara was subdued, but not like before. **

**What will happen?**

**Find out in the next chapters of Once More! And please review!**


	19. Chapter 19: are Family

**Chapter 19: …are Family**

Even with all the destruction around, it's still beautiful to see so many people working together like this.

Konoha citizens and Suna shinobi were working side by side to clean up the warzone and tend the wounded. From time to time, laughters and playful slaps to the back could be heard from corners of the village, where shinobi and workers were sitting together, drinking cold tea and chatting joyfully after a hard day of labor.

Their work was pretty much of a breather though, considering the thousands of orange blondes running around, helping them in anyway they could.

Naturally, many people, both of Suna and Konoha, were baffled.

"Can't believe I would live to see a day when that brat becomes helpful," a Konoha resident sneered.

"Well, I don't know, he seems pretty good to me," the Suna shinobi next to him noted. "He was the one who defeated our village's jinchuriki after all."

"Yeah right," the Konohan sneered again. "As if he could do that without Sasuke-sama's help. I bet he just hid in some hole and waited until Sasuke-sama subdued the demon, then jumped out to take the spotlight."

THWACK!

The worker stumbled to the ground painfully; his cheek now swollen with a red handprint. It was Haku who had just slapped him.

"You bastard!" She yelled, not even caring that everyone was gawking at her. "How dare you? Naruto-kun risked his own life fighting that jinchuriki to save your lives! If you have time to sit here and say things like that, why don't you just go out there and fight that jinchuriki yourself!"

The man pushed himself up in anger and snarled at Haku. "You don't know what you're saying, stupid girl. That brat is no better than…"

Then he squeaked in fear when a slab of wood crashed down on the ground right between his legs.

Zabuza's head poked out from behind the wood pole. "Oops, sorry, didn't see you there."

"You…" the civilian growled and started to rise from the ground again, but he was still smart enough to stop when he saw the giant zanbato behind Zabuza's back.

And he was completely startled when the bandaged man's face appeared right next to his right ear in just a blink of an eye.

"Listen up, idiot," the Kiri swordsman whispered. "Trust me; you don't want to mess with jinchuriki. Every single one of them have more than enough power to erase villages like this one from the world map. So…" he lowered his voice, so that only the worker could hear him, "…You should feel lucky that the brat is too kindhearted and forgiving to even consider doing that. But remember: never try to poke the eye of a sleeping dragon if you don't want to die."

Then he stood straight up and walked away, waving at Haku to follow him, leaving the civilian worker trembling in fear behind.

"What was that for, Dad? You nearly scared that man to death!" Haku complained when they were out of the ear range. Zabuza just shook his head.

"Haku, no matter how good a kunoichi you are, you're still too young. There are things in this world you cannot understand… not yet."

_Naruto Uzumaki… _he stared at the sky. _If this is what you have suffered during your childhood, I must say, you're incredible. All those years being treated like an outcast, a failure, a monster, and you still haven't snapped. Instead, your heart is always filled with kindness and love to all those people who despised you. You're much better than me… no, than __**anyone **__I've ever known in this world._

He looked at the girl who was pouting next to him, and smirked internally. _Maybe someday I can even entrust my daughter to you…_

* * *

><p>"That Zabuza… Is he trying to make people hate me even more?"<p>

The real Naruto scowled. One clone nearby had popped after observing the whole ruckus, and he could feel the memory of the conversation rushing back to his head.

'_**I'm sure he just wanted the best for you, Naruto-kun,' **_said Matatabi quellingly.

'_Yeah right,' _Naruto snorted mentally. _'I doubt he could ever forget about that time when Haku-chan kissed me. Seriously, she did that by herself!'_

He was on his way to the hospital. The first thing he had planned to do after waking up was to send out clones to help in the village, and going to the hospital to visit Iruka-sensei, Hokage-jiji, Karin-chan and everyone he knew there.

The girls inside his head giggled, and a few blocks away, Zabuza sneezed.

'_**You know, you're the most admirable person I've ever met, Naruto.'**_

Naruto actually stopped on his way upon hearing Gyuuki's comment. _'Eh? What are you talking about, Gyuuki?'_

The ox-topus chuckled. _**'During the time I stayed with Bee, I was surprised that a jinchuriki could be so cheerful and carefree. Now, I feel I could see him again in you, Naruto, but maybe even better. Bee didn't have to suffer from hatred all around him like you; maybe that's why he could keep his happy attitude all the time. But you… Surrounded by hatred since the day you were born, from everyone around you and even from Kurama inside you, it's really a miracle that you could still be this kindhearted and forgiving to everything, everyone.'**_

'_**Yeah,' **_Shukaku quipped in. _**'Sometimes I wonder if you were really Chomei's jinchuriki instead of Kurama.'**_

Saikyo bopped her slightly on the head. _**'Don't be mean, Shukaku-nee-chan…'**_

Naruto didn't say anything for a while. Then, when he finally did, on his face was a smile, but there were also tears on his eyes.

'_Thanks guys… Those words… they mean a lot to me…'_

He couldn't see them, but he could feel the encouraging smiles from the Tailed Beasts inside him. A warm feeling suddenly swept through his heart.

He had never thought about it before, but the Tailed Beasts were just like a family to him. Kurama was like a mother who was sometimes strict and short-tempered, but still caring and would always be there if he needed her. Kokuoh was the all-knowing father who could help him understand anything he didn't know. Gyuuki took the role of the badass but carefree uncle. Matatabi, Isobu and Goku were the cool, over doting big sister and quirky, hot-blooded brothers who liked bickering with each other. And Chomei and Saikyo were the two cute little sisters who were completely contrast in personality; one was always energetic, cheerful and happy, one was shy and seemingly cold to other people.

His heart throbbed. The last time, he had got only less than five people who he could even consider his family. Now, he had nine more.

"All right, let's go! To Iruka-sensei and everyone!" he cheerfully announced.

* * *

><p>"What happened to my students? Are they alright?"<p>

That was the first question Iruka asked when the nurse in charge got to his room to give him his first dose of medicine. The woman smiled at him warmly.

"They're definitely okay, Iruka-san. We won, the invaders are retreating, and none of your students was hurt in anyway!"

The chuunin teacher sighed in relief, and relaxed himself back into his comfy bed again. "Thank goodness…"

Then he remembered something else important. "Wait, so who brought me here?"

The nurse giggled. "She doesn't want me to tell you, so I won't. But really, seeing her carrying you here bawling like a schoolgirl was one of the things I've never thought I could see in my life," she said while injecting a syringe of medicine into Iruka's bicep a little bit too forcefully, making him wince.

"Okay, Iruka-san, it's done. Now, you should take a rest, as your body is still weak after such a brutal fight," she finished while walking out of the room, still giggling like crazy.

If Iruka was able to move his arms, he would be scratching his head in confusion.

"Ah, Iruka-sensei, you're awake!"

But his confusion would be put aside. Right now, there was a hyperactive, unpredictable student of him poking his head into the room.

"Naruto!" he smiled. "Come in!"

* * *

><p>"… and then I rushed in, slapped the seal on Gaara's forehead, and he fainted! Just like that!"<p>

Naruto couldn't resist giving Iruka a blow-by-blow description of how he and Sasuke had fought and defeated Gaara – minus anything about his 'friends' helping him of course.

Iruka didn't say anything until Naruto had finished talking himself into silence; he just watched the boy with enormous affection and pride.

"Eh, sensei? Why are you crying?"

Naruto looked up confusedly. Indeed, in Iruka's eyes, tears had started welling up. But at the same time, on his mouth was the brightest smile Naruto had ever seen on him.

"Kakashi was right," he mouthed quietly. "You're no longer the helpless student I used to teach in the academy. You have become strong, really strong. Now I can say that I made no mistake giving you that headband in the forest that night. I'm proud of you, Naruto."

Naruto couldn't even find a word to say for thirty seconds. Then…

"Iruka-sensei!"

"Oh! Hey Naruto! Ow ow ow! My ribs! They're still healing… AAAAAGH! NARUTOOOOOO!"

* * *

><p>"Iruka-sensei really is the greatest sensei ever," Naruto sniffed.<p>

'_**Yeah, and you repaid him by breaking his ribs,' **_Shukaku inside him deadpanned snarkily.

'_Come on! I already said I was sorry!'_

They had left Iruka's room after Naruto had broken three of Iruka's still mending ribs by a crushing hug. Naruto still shuddered whenever he remembered about the head nurse storming into the room, gasping in horror when she saw the state of her patient and kicking him out of the room while shouting curses at him, something like "Are you trying to murder him? Get out! Out!"

'_**She has a point, you know,' **_Chomei commented. _**'I'm like a goddess of happiness myself, but I've never seen someone expressing it by getting bluefaced and foaming at the mouth before.'**_

'_You guys!'_

'_**Uhmm… So who are we going to visit next?' **_Saikyo voiced her question timidly, and Naruto stopped to ponder.

'_Hmm… I think we should go see Gaara next. I haven't got a chance to talk to him during the fight, so I think a little talk will do good for him. Oh, here we are.'_

They had arrived at a room with three ANBU members guarding the entrance. One of them raised his hand.

"Halt! What business do you have with this patient?"

Naruto stared dumbly at the three guards for a while. He hadn't even thought that no matter what happened, Gaara was still a prisoner of war. And obviously, he cannot just barge in to visit him without permission from someone with authority.

"Oh, just let him in, will you? He's with me."

Naruto's head snapped back, and he saw Jiraiya standing next to him, his usual smile on his face.

"Master Jiraiya!"

"Pervy Sage!"

A vein popped on the man in question's forehead. "I've told you many times not to call me that, brat!"

"Oh please!" Naruto scoffed back. "You wouldn't deny that you're a pervert, would you?"

"Of course I would! I'm definitely not a pervert!"

"Oh yeah? Then what the heck are you?"

"A SUPER-PERVERT, of course!"

"Yeah right. Then I will just call you Super-Pervy Sage from now on."

"Why you…!"

"Just get in there already!"

The two males were kicked violently into Gaara's patient room by one of the ANBU, who, obviously, was a female.

"What just happened?" her teammate, a man with short, spiky black hair and the bird mask, blinked in confusion.

* * *

><p>'<em><strong>Aw, Gaara-kun looks so cute when he's sleeping,' <strong>_Matatabi swooned when she saw the redhead lying unconsciously on his bed.

'_**Don't you dare have any funny idea with him, or…' **_Shukaku muttered in her breath, small enough so no one could hear, but unfortunately, Matatabi was a cat. And cats have _very _good ears.

'_**Ooh, our Shuki-chan finally has a crush**__**'**_

Shukaku blushed bright red. _**'Wha…?'**_

'_**Ooh, ooh, did you just say Shuki-chan had a crush? Who is it? Who is it?' **_Chomei, enthusiastic and mischievous as always, piped in. One had to wonder if Shukaku's face could get redder than it was now. And naturally, she hid her embarrassment by jumping Matatabi, who was snickering next to her.

While the others were watching two girls trying to tear each other apart in amusement, Gyuuki suddenly said.

'_**Naruto, can you let me out for a while?'**_

'_Huh? What's wrong?'_

'_**Oh, nothing. I just want to check out something.'**_

Naruto was confused, but still complied. With a puff of smoke, the human form of Gyuuki appeared in the room, next to Jiraiya who was looking down at Gaara's unconscious body. The Toad Sage, however, didn't show any surprise at all when the man suddenly popped out. He was too focused on Gaara to even realize it.

"So you also realized it huh?"

Cue Jiraiya's heart leaping out of his chest in surprise.

"W… what the hell…? Where did you come from…?"

Gyuuki just shrugged with a smirk. "From Naruto, of course. I'm Gyuuki, known as the Eight-Tails to you. So, you noticed what was wrong with Gaara's seal already?"

"How can I _not _notice that?" Jiraiya scowled in disdain. "Sealing a Tailed Beast into a child is already something inhumane enough, but what kind of parents did something like _this _to his child? Screw that; who in their right mind would seal a Tailed Beast into someone's _brain_? No wonder he became a psychotic murderer at this age!"

Then he grumbled. "My skill in fuinjutsu might be considered one of the best in this whole continent, but even I cannot fix something like this without risking his life! Hell, even a master of fuinjutsu cannot do that without crippling him for life."

Gyuuki's eyes twinkled. "Well, a master cannot, but what about the Master of Masters?"

* * *

><p>"Okay, it's done."<p>

Jiraiya's mouth opened and closed like the mouth of a fish dropped on the ground. "How in the _world _did you do that?"

"I'm not called the Master of Masters in fuinjutsu for nothing," Gyuuki answered smugly.

And he nearly jumped when the Toad Sage suddenly kneeled down and hugged his leg.

"Master! Please take this useless man as your apprentice! Please!"

It's needless to say how freaked out Gyuuki was.

"Naruto, I'm gonna go back now. Oh, and if I calculate right, Gaara is going to wake up in… well, five seconds. So take care!"

And with a pop, he disappeared, leaving a disappointed super pervert crawling on the ground.

Right on cue, Gaara groaned, and started rolling on the bed. Jiraiya jumped up on his feet immediately in alert, but Naruto grabbed his hand.

"Pervy Sage, can you leave me alone with him? I'll be alright."

Jiraiya seemed uneasy about that request, but after looking into Naruto's eyes, he nodded, and disappeared in a swirl of leaves, leaving the blonde boy alone with Gaara in the room.

* * *

><p>Gaara groggily opened his eyes. It's been a <em>very <em>long time since he last had a sleep. Maybe that's why he was so tired. He just wanted to fall back into sleep again.

Wait a second.

He had _slept_.

His eyes snapped open, all the tiredness suddenly disappeared from his body.

And the first thing he saw was a blonde, spiky head.

His mind immediately went into overdrive. _He's here to kill me. _He roared and thrust his hand forward, intending to crush the boy in front of him,but to his surprise and horror, no sand came out upon his command.

"No! Don't come here!" he screamed out hysterically, trying desperately to sink into the wall to avoid the blonde killer who was advancing towards him. But it was useless; without his sand, without Mother's protection, he couldn't do anything…

He was going to be killed…

He just didn't expect the blonde boy to engulf him in a hug.

Gaara cringed. All his life, he hadn't even been hugged once. Most people who got close to him only wanted to murder him. No one had ever given him something like… this. And he was scared. What if this was some plan from bad people who wanted to kill him again? What if this was a jutsu that killed upon contact?

Strangely, he felt a weird warmth starting to emerge inside his chest.

What is this? What is this feeling? It is scary, it feels strange, it feels… good…

_Mother… Please save me…!_

"Why… am I not dying…?" he croaked out when he realized that he was, indeed, still alive and healthy. Naruto just looked at him confusedly.

"Eh? Why are you dying?"

"You! You're… making contact with me… touching me… and it feels weird… it feels good…"

'_**That came out kinda wrong,' **_snarked Goku inside Naruto's mind.

"… and I can't hear Mother anymore! Mother… Mother… where are you…? Give me back my Mother!"

Everyone in Naruto's head glared at Shukaku.

'_**Naruto, I think it's time for poor Gaara to make a visit to his own mindscape,' **_said Gyuuki.

* * *

><p>When Gaara opened his eyes, he was not sitting on the bed in his patient room anymore.<p>

Instead, he was standing in an endless desert, spreading towards the horizon. Was he sent back to Suna already? But no… This was not the desert he knew, because it didn't feel… right. It didn't feel like the hot, empty and lifeless desert at home. The sand was moving around with the wind, but somehow, he felt as if it had a life of its own. The wind also didn't whip around like usual… well, it did, but somehow, it felt more like it was caressing his face gently rather than trying to cut his skin. And the sun was of a tranquil golden color, unlike the harsh, glaring sun in Suna's desert.

"It's because you're in your mindscape now, Gaara."

Gaara's head jerked back, and he saw a pair of sapphire eyes.

Naruto chuckled. "Well, your face was too obvious."

"What are you doing here?" The redhead asked in a monotone voice. Naruto just chuckled again.

"I just don't want to leave you alone. After all, you don't have many friends before, right? It will be kinda lonely here, you know."

"_You_ are the one who sent me here," Gaara retorted with a slightly deadpan expression.

"**I told you that sending him here by chopping him at the back of his neck was not a good idea," **rumbled something behind the two boys, making Gaara jump.

"What was that?"

"Oh, just my Tailed Beast speaking. I'm a jinchuriki too, just like you, you know?"

Gaara was stunned. He had known Uzumaki was powerful way before, but he had really never expected the boy in front of him to be the same as himself.

"So you know…"

"Yes, Gaara, I know how heavy the burden of being a jinchuriki is," Naruto answered him with a nod. "Yeah, most people in Konoha hated me, too. To them, I was nothing more than a monster, and a piece of trash. My teachers tended to sabotage my career during my academy days. And there wasn't a week I didn't receive an attempt on arson and vandalism. They also attempted to kill me sometimes. And worse, I don't even have someone like your brother and sister around me."

By now, the world around Gaara was starting to spin.

If that was the case, how could the Uzumaki still be so calm, cheerful and _sane_?

"How…"

"…did I keep my sanity?" Naruto didn't even need Gaara to finish his question. He smiled. "Luckily for me, although I don't have a family, Hokage-jiji, my sensei, and my friends served as one for me. They are always with me whenever I need them, always there to comfort me whenever I feel down, always there to correct me whenever I do something wrong… Without them, who knows what I will become? Maybe even worse than you are, I bet."

Gaara's head lowered. Friends, huh…

"I don't have friends. No one even wants to go near me," he said miserably. Naruto grinned.

"Then I'll be your first friend! And after that, you can go and make friends yourself, it will be alright! Oh, and by the way, I didn't send you here only to talk about this; I also want you to meet someone! Let's go!"

Then he grabbed Gaara's hand and pulled him away, as if this was his own mindscape, despite the redhead's squirming.

* * *

><p>The two boys stopped in front of a fence.<p>

Gaara stared.

"This is… a fence."

"Duh."

"Who the hell in their right mind put a fence in the middle of a desert?"

"Technically, this is _your _mindscape."

"Oh, very funny ha ha."

"I didn't know you could snark."

"Shut up."

The boys stared at the fence even more.

"So… who do you want me to meet here?"

"**So you're finally here, **_**Gaara-kun.**_**"**

The voice sent chill down Gaara's spine. He had heard this voice for years, ever since… ever since his uncle Yashamaru died trying to kill him.

Mother's voice…

From the sand, the hulky shape of Shukaku emerged.

"**What's wrong Gaara-kun?" **the tanuki droned in a sickeningly sweet, but malicious tone. **"Evil people have locked Mother in here… Break this down, release me, and we will kill all the bad people… proving your existence…"**

As if he was hypnotized, Gaara inched towards the fence.

"Mother…"

"Oh, cut it out, Shuki-chan! That's not gonna fool anyone!"

Shukaku's head turned abruptly towards the direction of the voice.

"**You!"** she snarled. Naruto just grinned cheekily at the tanuki.

"Hi, Shuki-chan. Feeling good in there?"

"**I'll kill you!" **The beast roared angrily, and lunged forward, her claws aimed at Naruto's face. One more step and Naruto's head would be crushed to a pulp…

_Zap!_

"**UGYAAAAAAAA!"**

"Well, that was weird," Naruto sweatdropped.

"**You! What have you done to me!?" **Shukaku bellowed, trying to ram the barrier once again. It didn't work. _Zap! _**"GUWAAAAAAAAHH!"**

"**That's one of my masterpieces in sealing art," **Gyuuki's voice echoed smugly around them again. **"As long as she wears that collar on her neck, she won't be able to get pass the fence. A very effective way to stop her from rampaging, and still give her a sense of comfort."**

Naruto stared at the twitching mess that was Shukaku on the ground. "You know, I think you shouldn't try that again, unless you like being electrocuted."

Naturally, she ignored him.

_Zap!_

"**Mugyuu…"**

And Shukaku spontaneously combusted.

"Okay, that doesn't even make sense. Is that in the seal's design?"

"**Nope," **the voice answered, just as confused as Naruto.

* * *

><p>In another universe…<p>

"Mugyuu… mweanie tanuki… that's mah catchwohd… munya… burn… heheheheh… zzzzz…"

A blonde boy looked at the little girl who was drooling on his lap blissfully, unaware of anything around her.

"You know, Mom, adorable as she is, Sayuri is incredibly scary sometimes."

His mother, a beautiful, well-endowed woman with black hair, a pair of black fox ears and four smooth black tails waving around, just sighed with a smile.

"She's Sayuri-sama for you, dear."

* * *

><p>"Anyway…" Naruto turned back to Gaara, ignoring the burning and screaming Shukaku rolling around behind them, "…Gaara, meet Shukaku. She's the Tailed Beast sealed inside you. And no, she's not your mother."<p>

Gaara stared at the tanuki behind Naruto. "Uh… is she… going to be alright?"

"Meh, that was nothing. She'll be fine."

"She's not my mother," Gaara repeated what Naruto told him in disdain, and received a nod of confirmation from the blonde.

"What do you lead me here for?" Gaara scowled. All his life was a lie. His "mother" turned out to be a bloodthirsty monster tanuki whose favourite hobby is to crush people like grapes. His uncle tried to murder him. Everyone around him treated him like a monster. All was because of this… beast… sealed inside him.

Naruto could feel the hostility in his friend's voice, and he, obviously, understood clearly why. He put a hand on Gaara's shoulder, and the boy cringed again.

"Gaara, I know she had done a lot of bad things to you, and I won't ask you to forgive her about everything right away. But… well, I used to hate my Tailed Beast too; after all, she was the one who made my life miserable. But after a while, I realized… On purpose or not, she actually had the _right _to do that. Since the first days the ninja system was established, shinobi have been using the Tailed Beasts as weapons for wars. We ripped them of their own free will. We're just the same as them. What would give us the right to judge them?"

It's needless to say how appalled Gaara was.

"But she's the one who ruined my life!" Finally, he managed to blurt out a protest. "She's the one who tempted me to kill all these people! And… and… maybe also because of her, I couldn't even know who my _real _mother was!"

"No, Gaara-kun, it's not."

The two boys' heads snapped back. Standing behind them was a woman. She was not an absolutely stunning person, but her short brown hair, her round face and the sapphire blue eyes full of kindness still gave her a very unique beauty.

"You're…"

The woman smiled. "My, it's been a long time, Gaara-kun. My son has grown up into a very handsome young man."

"Mo… ther…?" Gaara mouthed in shock.

"Yes, Gaara-kun," Karura gave him another bright smile. "I'm so happy to see you too."

And Gaara found himself crying his heart out, the first time for many years.

* * *

><p>Karura had calmly been listening to everything Gaara told her, about his life, how Yashamaru had tried to kill him, how he had gone… well… a bit crazy and massacred many people after that. Her eyes seemed to darken with each word, but when the boy finished his story, they immediately returned to the usual kind, loving sapphire orbs they used to be.<p>

"Poor you, my Gaara-kun…" she mouthed, stroking her son's red hair sadly. "All those years… I shouldn't have left you like that… Mama's sorry…"

Gaara choked back a sniffle.

"Uhm…" Naruto raised his voice, "I know it's rude, but how did you get in Gaara's head anyway, miss… uhh…"

Karura giggled. "My, I feel so young when you call me that. You can call me Karura. What is your name?"

Naruto scratched his head embarrassingly. "Ah, sorry, my name is Naruto. So, uh, Karura-san…"

"Hmm… what to say…" Karura pondered. "To be honest, I don't know either. When Gaara-kun was born, I just lay there, waiting for Death to claim me. At that time, my only thoughts were about my son, about how he would live without his mother, and I wished I could have a way to stay with him… And the next thing I knew, I was in an empty place; there was nothing around me, only a blank, pure white. But somehow, I knew my son was near. So I just kept waiting and waiting, until suddenly I appeared here, in this desert… and met you two," she finished with a smile.

"Huh," Naruto blinked. "Is that even possible?"

"**You know, considering what we have been through, I don't think there is anything which can be considered 'impossible' to us anymore."**

"Who was that?" Gaara asked, startled. Naruto just chuckled.

"Don't worry, that's just a friend."

"You sure have many friends, huh," Gaara said dryly. Naruto could feel jealousy and sadness laced in each word the redhead said. He leaned over and grabbed the boy's hand.

"Gaara, friendship doesn't come in one day or two. Do you really think that every friend of mine just came to me one day and offered to be my friend? No Gaara; to have everyone recognize me, I had to work, with everything I got, for them to acknowledge me first."

"But… I'm a jinchuriki," Gaara turned his head away miserably. "I killed people. Everyone fears me. No one will ever acknowledge me."

Then he felt a slap on the back of his head.

"Idiot. Did you forget that you're looking at a jinchuriki like yourself? You won't know until you try. If I can do it, you also can. It's never too late to change."

"Naruto-kun is right, dear," Karura added in. "What's in the past isn't important; what matters is whether you want to make amends for it or not. Do your best, use your power for good things, and most importantly, take responsibility for what you have done. Soon, people will forgive you, and become your friend, I'm sure of it."

"Besides," Naruto continued cheerfully, "I have told you many times, haven't I? You already had one friend; me! And you can start by being friend with her," he waved his hand towards Shukaku, who was scowling behind the fence-seal, "just like I did with mine!"

Both Gaara and Shukaku stared at Naruto as if he had grown another head. **"**"Being **friend **with **him/**her? **No **way!**"**"

Naruto snickered. "See, you two are already getting quite close."

Jinchuriki and Tailed Beast looked at each other, then turned away with a "huff" each. Karura giggled.

"You two are so cute, just like a tsundere couple in love."

While Shukaku was sputtering indignantly, Gaara just tilted his head. "What's a tsundere?"

Karura giggled again. "Oh, dear, a tsundere is…"

"**I'll kill you, woman!"**

"Oh, don't be like that, Shuki-chan;" giggled again, "I would love to have you as my daughter-in-law in the future."

The final straw.

Shukaku lunged at the woman in anger and embarrassment with full intention of crushing her to a pulp…

…and once again, shocked violently by the magical bounded field which separated her from the three people.

"But Gaara, that's not the only reason I'm here," Naruto said, ignoring the twitching and smoking tanuki behind the fence. "The truth is, I'm also here to warn you two about something. Something dangerous, which might even destroy the world."

Gaara looked at Naruto questioningly. The blonde closed his eyes and sighed.

"Now… where to start…"

* * *

><p>"So you mean…" Gaara asked, and Naruto could tell he was trying to keep any trace of skepticism out of his voice. "An organization named Akatsuki is attacking jinchuriki everywhere to collect the Tailed Beasts. They are all so incredibly strong no normal ninja is a match to them. And they're trying to use the Tailed Beasts to recreate something called the Ten-Tails, to destroy the world."<p>

Naruto nodded; there was no traced of a smile on his face. "Yes."

"That's the craziest thing I've ever heard in my life," Gaara deadpanned.

"Believe it or not, it's the complete truth, Gaara," Naruto answered grimly.

"But if that really was their plan after all, how would you know about it?" Gaara looked at him suspiciously. Naruto fidgeted; how should he tell his friend about this?

"Well… actually, they had already tried to get me once. About a month before the Chuunin Exam started. Even with my beast's help, I was nearly captured by the two agents they sent… heck, I would have been if the old man, Pervy Sage and Kakashi-sensei hadn't come in time. And based on what they told me, and what I knew from my beast… well, that's what we deduced out of them."

That's not a complete lie, either. Itachi and Kisame had really come for him before the Chuunin Exam.

"**Just let them go at me, and I will crush them like the bugs they are! Hahahaha!" **Shukaku bragged loudly, but Naruto shook his head.

"No! You still don't understand! If you keep acting like that, they will massacre you! They're not people we can face alone. Unless we work together, beast and jinchuriki, there is no way we can defeat them. That's why I told you, Gaara and Shukaku, to become friends; we need you, Shukaku, just like you need us!"

"**Ha! You're too full of yourself, brat!" **Shukaku snorted. **"Why do you think I would work with you humans? Who do you think I am? I'm the great Shukaku, daughter of the Sage of Six Paths! I don't need puny humans like you to tell me what I should do!"**

_Ugh…! I already knew Shukaku was hardheaded, but this is just ridiculous! _Naruto thought in annoyance and despair. If Shukaku didn't cooperate, things would just be like that time; Gaara would be captured, and Shukaku would be extracted, again…

"I understand, Naruto. I believe you."

Naruto blinked. What did Gaara just say?

"I trust you, Naruto," Gaara repeated, looking into his eyes. "And I will try my best to become friends with her. It might take a long time, but as you said, it's never easy, right? I will work with everything I got for her to acknowledge me. Believe it."

Naruto was stunned for five seconds. At the sixth, he lunged forward and engulfed his friend with another bone crushing hug.

"Thank you Gaara…" he muttered. "I just cannot stand it if… if another friend of mine dies again…"

Truthfully, Gaara wasn't very well known for his social skills, even as an adult. So it's no surprise the only thing he could do right now was awkwardly patting his friend on the back.

The boys separated, and Naruto said. "I think it's time for me to go."

"Naruto, can I ask you one last thing?" Gaara called after his back.

"Yes?"

"How many tails do you have?"

Those words might be weird to other people, but Naruto understood. He looked at Gaara, a strange twinkle sparked in his eyes.

"Technically, at least 9."

With these mysterious words, the blonde boy faded away from Gaara's mindscape.

* * *

><p>"Sakura, you awake?"<p>

Sakura smiled painfully at the spiky blond boy who was peeking through the entrance of the room. "Of course I am, baka. How can I answer you if I'm not awake?"

Naruto pushed the door open, beaming. "That's great! Then it means I can… oh… sorry…"

His smile faltered when he saw Sakura's mother sitting in a chair near her daughter's bed.

Konoha actually isn't split into people who like Naruto and people who want to outright kill him. There are still people who know about his status as a jinchuriki, and sure, they hate him for the beast sealed inside him, but not to the point they want to murder him for it. They're smart enough to know that killing him would just unleash the beast onto the village again, and they cannot take responsibility if that happens.

Instead, they choose to ignore him, sometimes send him distasted glares. They don't want to harm Naruto, but the word "demon" is still occasionally used to address the boy.

And Mebuki Haruno was one of those people.

As an ex-chuunin of Konohagakure, of course she knew what a jinchuriki was. But just like Iruka Umino, most of her family was killed during the Kyuubi's attack twelve years ago. Her old mother and father, and her beloved little sister. That's why despite knowing that the boy wasn't responsible for what happened at all, she still couldn't refrain from hating him, because looking at him reminded her of the attack, of her deceased relatives.

That, after all, was a fatal flaw of humankind; when something bad happens, they need to find something to blame for it. Even when that bad thing happens to be something they caused themselves.

"Oh, don't mind me," the Haruno woman said, with a hint of disdain in her voice. "I was going to leave anyway."

Then she stood up from her seat and walked out of the room, but not before giving the blonde a glare. The door slammed shut behind the two children.

"Don't mind my mom," Sakura said in a low voice. "She's usually not a bad person. She just doesn't like you because of… you know…"

Naruto didn't answer. He understood that more clearly than anyone else; it's not like he hadn't seen that look on the woman's eyes before.

"It's alright, Sakura," In the end, he just waved her off.

"But Naruto…"

"Just forget it, okay?" He said strongly. "I'm here to visit you, not for you to feel sad about things like that."

Then he changed the topic. "Anyway, you're the one you have to worry about rather than me! What did you think, facing them with your body like that! You might die!"

"Says the one who used his body to block a Chidori for Zabuza," Sakura retorted.

'_**Ouch, touché. It seems the better she becomes, the sharper her mouth is.' **_

'_Hey, which side are you on?'_

"But it's kinda true…" Sakura continued, looking away. "Yeah, maybe the reason I did that was… because I was jealous."

Naruto's eyes bugged out. "You're _jealous_? Of me?"

"Yeah…" Sakura closed her eyes. "During the time we were in the academy, I'd always thought of myself to be better than you, that you're just a goofy idiot who couldn't bother to learn anything useful. And then, we were assigned into Team 7, and suddenly I became the most useless person of the team. I… Honestly, I was scared. It's understandable that Sasuke-kun surpassed me in everything, but even you…"

Naruto was shocked. He didn't think Sakura could think of him like that.

A hint of anger and sadness bubbled up inside him. He opened his mouth…

'_**No, Naruto,' **_the voice of Kokuoh suddenly rose. _**'Let her finish first. Trust me.'**_

"…I just…" Sakura inhaled sharply, and continued. "I really hate being useless. I was jealous of you, but at the same time... I know people hate you because of the Kyuubi inside you; yet you never thought of giving up, and now you have become strong… Meanwhile I, the one known as kunoichi of the year, couldn't do anything except sitting outside and doing useless things… Since when I don't know, I had started to admire you, because you had succeeded what I couldn't do… And I thought, if I could become a little bit like you…"

Naruto felt as if someone had just hit him in the head with a hammer.

What surprised him wasn't that she had admitted he was strong; it was that she admitted he was strong without even mentioning his heritage, or Kurama, or anything like that. She had admitted his strength as Naruto Uzumaki, not as the son of the Fourth Hokage, or as the jinchuriki of the most powerful Tailed Beast.

Sakura opened her eyes, only to see Naruto gaping at her like a fish out of water. And she did something she'd never thought she would ever do in her life: she stuttered.

"Uh… what… d-do you… h-hate me now…? P-please…"

To her surprise, Naruto answered with the biggest grin she'd ever seen.

"Are you kidding? How can I hate you when you say it like that?"

Sakura let out a sigh of relief. The two children then shared a happy, hearty laughter, as if all the fighting, all the war hadn't ever happened.

"…So that means if I ask you for a date now, you won't hit me anymore?"

"Don't push your luck, baka."

Suddenly, the sound of urgent footsteps rose from outside the room.

"What's with all the commotion?" Naruto stared at the door, annoyed.

And these following words made Naruto's spine froze as if he had just been dumped into an ice pit.

"Sir! This is an emergency! Patient Karin Uzumaki had committed suicide in her room!"

And Naruto literally disappeared from Sakura's view in a cloud of dust coming from nowhere.

* * *

><p><em>No no no… How could this happen…?<em>

The corridor seemed to fly backward as Naruto ran. He had rammed into a few people on his way, earning him a lot of yelling to the face, but he didn't care a bit.

The only thing he knew by now was that Karin, his fellow Uzumaki, his relative, his _sister_, was going to die.

The door to her room wasn't locked; he kicked it open.

From the ceiling, a rope made from a hospital bedsheet was hanging down. It's obvious that she had been trying to hang herself.

"Ah, Uzumaki-san," a nurse greeted him when she saw him entering the room.

Unlike what people might think, most of the hospital staff is actually nice to Naruto. Maybe because they are people who work in healthcare service. Or just maybe because they cannot stand looking at a boy getting beaten up almost everyday without doing anything to help. After all, they are doctors and nurses, and that is their professional ethics.

"How is Karin-chan? Is she all right?" Naruto asked worriedly while trying to look across the nurse's shoulder.

"She is all right, for now," another voice answered him from his left. He turned, and saw the head doctor of the Medical Corp, Dr. Ishida, walking towards him. Naruto had known her for a while; she had always been his caretaker whenever he was sent to the hospital. "She's incredibly lucky; had Haruka-san arrived at her room two minutes later, there wouldn't have been any way for her to survive. But…"

There was something in her voice which Naruto found unsettling.

"What do you mean 'but'? Is there anything wrong with her?"

The doctor looked behind nervously for a while. Then she turned back to Naruto.

"Can we talk about this in my office, Naruto-kun?"

* * *

><p>"So what's wrong with her, Ishida-sensei?"<p>

Naruto asked. He was now facing Dr. Ishida in her office. The doctor sighed.

"Naruto-kun… this is supposed to be a high ranked secret, but I think as her family member, you have the right to know about it. Do you know…"

"…that Karin-chan was a subordinate of Orochimaru? Yes, I know. Pervy Sage told me about that," Naruto cut her short. The doctor seemed to be taken aback a bit, not only because he knew the secret, but also because of the name.

"I see," she said after recovering herself. "But do you know that Orochimaru sent his underlings here to eliminate her after she lost her match in the preliminary?"

Naruto's head felt numb. "So… the Oto ninja Sakura fought were…"

"That's true, Naruto-kun," Dr. Ishida nodded grimly. "And I'm afraid that left a deep scar on her mind. No one would take it well when the person she trusted the most suddenly decided to betray her like that. Especially after she had given everything she got for his sake…"

"I know…" Naruto growled out. An emotion he had sworn to never let appearing in his mind – hatred – was now bubbling up again inside him. He had known so well what hatred would lead to, having gone through his whole childhood with and suffered so much from it.

But how in the world could he _not _hate Orochimaru by now…?

"That is why I'm telling you this, Naruto-kun," the doctor continued. "Psychological damages are the hardest injuries a human can get. But as her family, I think you will have a better chance than us doctors. Even if she was in cohort with Orochimaru, she was just a victim of that snake after all. I really don't want to see her suffer like that…"

Naruto cracked a smile. It was an odd, strange sort of smile, but that was the best he got right now.

"Yeah, alright. Of course I'll try my best! She's my family, _my sister_, after all! Believe it!"

* * *

><p>Karin stared outside of the window with empty, emotionless eyes.<p>

Life had ended for her, so why hadn't they let her die already? Why bothered saving her?

Being an orphan, Karin was a girl who craved nothing more than attention from others. But except for Orochimaru-sama, no one had ever paid any respect to her. They didn't even care about her heritage as a member of the Uzumaki clan; to them, she's just a weak, ugly nerd who had always been bitching around.

But now, even Orochimaru-sama had abandoned her…

What other purpose did she have in her life?

"Karin-chan… Hey, Karin-chan…"

And this blonde boy – Naruto, as she remembered – just continued annoying her to no end.

"Karin-chan… I'm sorry to hear about what happened to you…" she heard him mumbling. "I understand that it hurts, but…"

That was the last straw.

"No, you don't," she snapped; suddenly her voice was loud and strong. "You don't understand anything. How can you understand anything, with that goofy smile always in your face? How can you understand, while all around you are people who adore you and spoil you like a little prince?"

Her expression was turning wilder and wilder. "All of my life, no one has ever treated me with any respect! No matter how hard I tried, I was never more than a joke to everyone around me! I have trained myself a lot, pushed myself to the limit many times, but for what? I was still only a useless genin! Can you even _imagine _that? Always the useless one, always laughed at by other people?"

'_**So she's basically an attention whore, huh,' **_Goku noted, a little bit miffed.

"Only Orochimaru-sama noticed me for who I am…" she continued with a teary smile. "He took me in, trained me as a kunoichi, and what's more… He taught me what it meant to be a member of the Uzumaki clan, about how great they were at fuinjutsu, about their incredible chakra and life force, about how useful I was going to be in the future… But now even he has abandoned me…"

Rage exploded in Naruto's stomach like a blazing flame.

Karin was the same as Naruto. She had lived a lonely life without her parents, just like him in the past, and it was understandable she desperately craved for attention like that. And the bastard Orochimaru had taken advantage of it…

Naruto reached out his hand, and delivered a slap to Karin's face.

"Wha…?"

"You idiot!" Naruto yelled at Karin's surprised face. He knew it's not right to scream at a girl like that, but he _needed _to do it. "Why the hell did you think that getting _Orochimaru's_ attention would do anything good for you? You had been with him; didn't you see what would happen to people he 'cared' about? He experiments on them, turns them into monsters! My friend Sasuke would have been one of them if we hadn't fought Orochimaru away in the Forest of Death!"

Karin was really taken aback by Naruto's sudden outburst. "S-so what?" she retorted in a sputter. "At least he still…"

"Karin-chan, Orochimaru had just backstabbed you, can't you see? Isn't that enough proof to show how evil he is? He is the type of person who will not hesitate in throwing other people away as long as it is for his benefit! And you still think that he really cares about you? He just did that for a chance of getting your body someday, a body holding the bloodline of the Uzumaki!"

Naruto hadn't meant to say those words so baldly; the words had just jumped out of his mouth in his rage, but they seemed to be very effective: Karin cringed up, and tears started welling up in her eyes.

Naruto inhaled deeply, and said in a gentler, friendlier tone. "Karin-chan, I used to be like you too. My parents both died during the Kyuubi attack on Konoha, you know, and I have been living as an orphan since I was born. I have also sought for attention from other people for a while, by messing up the village with pranks of all kinds. But even with that, no one would notice me; they just saw me as a delinquent who couldn't do anything but bad things to others. Then I realized…" he closed his eyes and sighed, "…that what mattered was not how much you do, but rather _what _you do if you wanted people to realize you. Think about other people, do good things to them, and they will start paying attention to you. And allying yourself with Orochimaru definitely cannot be considered good."

Karin didn't answer him. She just looked away and started sobbing. And Naruto understood.

"You don't just want attention; you want love, love of having a family, don't you?"

A loud sob confirmed him. Hearing that made his heart hurt more than it had ever been before. He reached out his arms and gave Karin a hug. The girl melted into his arms without any resistance, and before anyone could know she had been crying her heart out into his shirt. The two siblings just sat like that for a while, not saying anything, but everyone knew they didn't need to; just being in each other's arms was more than enough for them right now.

'_**You seem to be very good at making people cry today, huh.'**_

And of course, Goku just had to ruin the mood as always.

'_Oh, be quiet.'_

* * *

><p>"<strong>Wood Style: Four Pillar House Jutsu!"<strong>

Thanks to the help of the Hokages, the reconstruction of Konohagakure was going smoother than expected. House after house burst from the ground like trees, replacing the ones destroyed during the assault, gaining cheers from the watching crowd.

"**Tch…" **From afar, Tobirama Senju clicked his tongue in annoyance. **"Ever the show off, my brother…"**

Sarutobi followed his predecessor's eyes and let out a deep sigh. No human is flawless, Hokage or not. Even the First Hokage was not perfect; he's usually a humble man, but sometimes his personality could be a little bit… weird.

And if someone like the mighty Hashirama Senju couldn't claim to be perfect, how could he have the right to do so, either?

Unlike other shinobi who possessed powerful bloodlines or special abilities from their birth, Hiruzen was just a normal person having advanced through his whole career by nothing but his skills. Sure, he could utilize the elements perfectly, and some people praised him as the most powerful Hokage of Konoha for that, but in sheer power alone, he knew there was no way he could compare to the other legendary shinobi like Hashirama, Tobirama, or even the new ones like A the Raikage.

And he wasn't proud of what he had done either. As the Hokage, he had failed many people in his life. The Uchiha clan had been massacred. Naruto had to suffer his life without love and respect. And now, this invasion.

Konoha had triumphed thanks to his plan, but risking the lives of some people he had used as "baits" was definitely not something he liked to do. And somehow, something in his mind still whispered to him that had he been more decisive and assaulted Otogakure before the invasion happened, things would have been better.

_You are too soft. You don't care about the village's fate if something like this happens. You're not worthy of the name Hokage. _The voice inside his head scolded him.

_Shut up. I just don't want another war to happen. _He retorted. _Konoha has been through enough wars already. Doing that to Konoha residents is already beyond the line._

_Is it really? _The voice continued in a mocking tone. _You, of all people, should know that shinobi are tools for war. Without wars, there is no shinobi. You are going to destroy Konoha if you continue thinking like that._

_Shut up! I…_

"**Zoning out in the middle of the day, eh Saru? That isn't like you at all."**

Hiruzen blinked. Hashirama had been standing in front of him since when he didn't know, smiling broadly.

"Sensei," he bowed. "No, it's nothing… it's just… I've been thinking about something. Not something important though; don't worry."

"**I see," **the First Hokage nodded. **"But now I have a question for you. During the invasion, you left many people in the stadium on purpose. Why did you do that?"**

The old Sarutobi cringed slightly. He had expected this question to be asked, sooner or later. But he had prepared the answer for it.

"Because that was the only thing I could do," he said, refusing to look away from the other two Hokages. Tobirama's eyebrows scrunched.

"**So to you, it's fine throwing away the lives of Konoha citizens for your plans to work?"**

Killing intent leaked out from the two Hokages, aiming at the old man, but Hiruzen simply refused to budge.

"I never said that, sensei," the Third Hokage said, calmly meeting the glare of his two predecessors. "It pains me that I had to put my citizens in danger, but if I didn't do that, Orochimaru would notice there was something wrong, and who knows what might happen after that? I hate to say it, but I am really getting old. Had it not been for the help of Jiraiya and the Mizukage, I would have been killed when Orochimaru summoned you two, in full power like this. What if he decided to summon you before he entered the village? And after that, with your powers, he would have destroyed not only the citizens in the stadium, but the whole village as well. I cannot let him do that."

The old man inhaled deeply. "You can kill me now if you want; I have prepared to face my retribution for that, but I have no regret for what I've done. As long as I can protect Konoha and all of her citizens, I will gladly give up my life for it."

The three men continued glaring at each other for a while. Then suddenly, Hashirama let out a hearty chuckle.

"**You have really become a great Hokage, little Saru."**

Hiruzen blinked. "Wait, aren't you mad at me?"

"**Why should we?" **This time, it's Tobirama who chuckled. **"What you said was completely true; we cannot expect to save everyone. There is no such thing as a war without casualty. Being able to protect this many people in a war is not something everyone can do; of course you should be proud of it, not feel ashamed."**

"**I don't like it very much, but as ninja, it is understandable that we always have to be a bit pragmatic in our actions," **Hashirama shook his head. **"We Konoha shinobi would avoid killing as much as possible, but after all, we're still soldiers. If an enemy shows up with intent to kill, we must do everything in our power to take them down, or…"**

He trailed off, and Hiruzen understood why; he was one of the rare people who knew about the last fight of the First Hokage and the reason why he died. He had been backstabbed by the one who he had still thought of as his best friend, Madara Uchiha, even after the latter had betrayed him and summoned the Kyuubi on the village. And yet, when he had had the chance to finish him, he had hesitated, and decided that there might still be a chance that Madara redeemed himself. And just look at what his naivety had done to him.

"**So… do you know what happened to Saikyo? And Kurama, too?" **Hashirama suddenly asked. Then he smiled sheepishly. **"Oh, of course you don't; you don't even know who they are…"**

A few months ago, that question should have been unintelligible to Hiruzen, but now, it wasn't.

"They're in the care of a wonderful person," he nodded with a smile. "Someone who treats them as equal, as friends, as family. I can say for sure you don't have to worry about them anymore."

Hashirama seemed to be taken aback seeing that Hiruzen knew the names, but then, a sad smile climbed up the First Hokage's face. **"That's good. Poor Saikyo… I couldn't even say I was sorry… Hopefully she will be happy with the one she is with now. And Kurama… I'm glad she's not under the hand of someone like Madara anymore. She has suffered enough for her life already…"**

The three Hokages gazed at the horizon, where the sun was sinking down.

"**I think this is when we have to say good bye," **Tobirama said. **"The dead shouldn't be staying in the living land for so long."**

"**All right," **Hashirama nodded. **"But before we go…"**

With a very quick movement, he reached out his hand and grabbed Sarutobi's head. The old man cried out in surprise, but curiously, he didn't feel anything. No pain, no shock, nothing. In fact… it was completely opposite. He felt stronger, and somehow… younger.

"**Consider that a present from me," **Hashirama grinned, retracting his hand. **"I have used my power to restore your life force. Basically, you're now like when you were at your forties or so."**

"But… why?" The old man, well, not so old now, could only splutter those words.

"**Because I still believe that you have to be punished abusing villagers like that," **answered the First Hokage with a cheeky grin. **"And I think thirty more years doing paperwork will suffice. Enjoy your fate, monkey!"**

Then with a few hand signs, he started glowing white, signal of a reincarnated soul ready to depart back to the Pure Land, while still laughing like mad. Tobirama also did the same, but he turned back to Hiruzen when he started glowing.

"**Hiruzen, that time when I chose you as the Third Hokage, I'd got a feeling that I wouldn't have to regret about my decision. And now, looking at what you've done for Konohagakure, I can proudly say that I didn't make any mistake. Keep doing your best as a Hokage, and protect Konoha with all you have."**

"**Yeah," **Hashirama added. **"And if you meet Saikyo again… tell her not to worry about that last battle, okay? And Kurama… tell her that I'm sorry for not being able to do anything more to help her than releasing her from Madara. If I hadn't hesitated, I could have done more, but…"**

"I will tell them," Hiruzen said with a grin. "After all, they're a part of my family now."

Hashirama smiled and nodded his satisfaction. The bodies of the two ex-Hokages shone brightly, then collapsed into two dead corpses and a pile of dust and ash. Right when they touched the ground, the two bodies burst into two similar trees right in the middle of the rooftop they had been standing on just a moment ago.

Right at that time, Naruto poked his head out of the door.

"Aw, they're already gone?" he pouted. "Man, Saikyo-chan was just so eager to see old man Hashirama…"

Then he noticed the other man on the rooftop. "Eh? Is that… you, jiji? How could you be so… young?"

The Hokage chuckled. He grabbed Naruto's shoulder and said with a grin.

"Well Naruto, how about I explain after having a bowl of ramen? I'm starving here."

History of Konohagakure, and the whole shinobi world, was going to turn to a completely new page.

* * *

><p><strong>Omake: Why Kurama hated Minato so much<strong>

"Kurama, I've been wondering…"

The red vixen blinked. "Hm? What's wrong?"

"…how can you be a girl? I was pretty sure you had a very manly voice before when we met."

Creepy silence ensues.

Then…

Naruto was blasted off his feet by an incredible shockwave of chakra.

"**MINATO NAMIKAZE I'M GONNA FUCKING MURDER YOU, DEATH BE DAMNED! I WILL FIND A WAY TO PULL YOU OUT FROM DEATH'S STOMACH AND KILL YOU AGAIN! I WILL DESTROY YOUR PRECIOUS KONOHA, AND EVERYTHING… Ack! Release me you guys! Release meeeeeeee!"**

"Like hell we'll do that!"Gyuuki growled out while pinning Kurama down on the floor together with Goku and Isobu, preventing the vixen from crushing Konoha again.

"What happened to her?" Naruto sweatdropped.

"Well, Yang is also the symbol of masculinity, you know. Try to connect the dots," Kokuoh shook his head awkwardly.

Naruto connected the dots, and felt something died within him.

His dad, cool and peace-loving as he is, could be downright cruel sometimes.

* * *

><p><strong>And there it is. The last chapter of the first arc of Once More. Hope you guys enjoy this... well... kinda happy ending.<strong>

**This chapter has a little tribute to Daneel Rush and his masterpiece Naruto Genkyouien, which had just been completed about 1 month ago. If anyone hasn't read it yet, please try. In my opinion, it's one of the best Naruto fanfic in this site (although someone might think the concept to be a bit weird) :V**

**Stay tuned for the Second Arc, which will be coming in a few days... hopefully.**

**And please give me your reviews! Thank you for following my first story until now!**


	20. Chapter 20: The Will of Minato Namikaze

**Early chapter!**

**Well, it is earlier than usual, you know. This will mark the beginning of the second arc of Once More!**

**Enjoy!**

**Just to be sure, I don't own Naruto. That right belongs to Masashi Kishimoto.**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 20: The Will of Minato Namikaze<strong>

"So Orochimaru was killed."

"No shit! That fight was the most wicked thing ever! That humongous snake, that huge Buddha statue, and everything went 'whoosh!' Fire everywhere! Wicked!"

That voice came from the white half of a… well… person wearing a black cloak with red cloud symbol sewn onto it.

The room they were standing in was dark, as if it were a cave. Torches lit up the walls, reflecting the shadows of the nine people in the room, projecting them in a way that made them look like they were doing a strange dance.

"Good riddance, anyway," The man with the blue shark-like skin, Kisame Hoshigaki, laughed with a sneer. "I've never liked that creepy bastard."

"Is it really?" Another person, a hulky figure crawling on the ground in four legs with a scorpion tail on its back, scoffed. "I've worked with him for a while; that sneaky snake won't succumb to death that easily."

"Well, at least this time he will not be able to go after our cute Uchiha's beautiful body, won't he?" The one with the big three-bladed scythe on his back laughed jeeringly, followed by an eruption of laughter coming from the other members of the Akatsuki. Itachi just raised an eyebrow, but didn't say anything.

"Enough," Pain raised his hand. "Enough."

The laughter died at once.

"We will worry about Orochimaru later," the Rinnegan wielder continued. "Zetsu, did you find anything else about the Nine-Tails jinchuriki?"

"**He fought, and subdued the One-Tail jinchuriki, with the help of Sasuke Uchiha," **This time, the black half of Zetsu answered.

"And how is his ability?"

"**He is indeed strong," **Black Zetsu replied. **"His power is enough to hold back the One-Tail long enough until Sasuke arrived to assist him. He is very adept at the Shadow Clone Jutsu. His speed and power increased considerably when he was using the Beast's chakra."**

Pain looked at Itachi. "It's different from what you have reported to me, Itachi."

"Oh?" the Uchiha asked back impassively. "And how is that?"

"You reported that the jinchuriki's power was nothing impressive," Pain said, his Rinnegan drilled straight into Itachi's Sharingan. "And yet, he was able to subdue the One-Tail, and has proven himself to be way more formidable than what you have described. What do you have to say about this?"

Itachi calmly received the gaze of the Akatsuki leader without even a blink.

"Indeed, it is different from what I told you," he answered. "However, that report was of two months ago, before the Chuunin Exam even started. He must have trained a lot during those two monthsin preparation for the exam, so his improvement is understandable. If you still doubt me, you can ask Kisame; he was with me at that time."

"Well, it was kinda true, but…" Kisame scratched his head.

"Furthermore," Itachi continued smoothly, "he didn't do it alone. He got the help of my brother, and he was an Uchiha just like me. You all know what Uchihas can do, right?"

"When you put it that way, it might be true," Pain admitted. "However, the fact that the jinchuriki is growing in such an incredible rate cannot be ignored. Konoha is at the weakest now, having suffered from Orochimaru's invasion. I will go there and take both the jinchuriki of the Nine-Tails and One-Tail before they can recover from the battle. And then we can restrict them until we can start gathering the other beasts. That will make our job much easier in the future."

Killing intent suddenly spiked from where Itachi was standing. Pain just looked at the man, unimpressed.

"What now, Itachi? Are you defying my decision?"

"No, but…" the voice coming from Itachi was calm and small. "Are you implying that I will fail?"

"Excuse me?" Pain raised an eyebrow.

"You have given me the mission to take care of the Nine-Tails, and that mission is of none but me," Itachi growled. "Now you go around and say that. Are you doubting my ability? I am an Uchiha, and Uchihas don't **fail**," he pressed on the word 'fail' with a threatening tone.

"Ooh, touchy," White Zetsu whistled.

The two pairs of mystic eyes stared into each other for a while. Then…

"Three months."

Itachi blinked. "Hmm?"

"You have three months to capture the Nine-Tails. If within three months, you cannot subdue it and bring it here, you will lose your life. Swear the Blood Oath, right here, right now."

"The Blood Oath?" Itachi's expression was blank, unreadable. Pain nodded, his Rinnegan gleamed in the darkness.

"Yes, the Blood Oath. Do you agree to make it? Or are all those words you have just said meaningless promises you can throw away anytime you want?"

The Akatsuki members roared in laughter again. But Itachi's face was still as calm and impassive as ever.

"Certainly, Pain, I will make a Blood Oath," he said, pulling out a kunai and cutting his hand open. "Will you be the Oathkeeper yourself?"

Pain's bodies cannot show emotions. But if they could, the expression on their faces right now must be surprise and shock.

But the moment passed as fast as it came. Pain also pulled out a kunai and stabbed his own hand. Somehow, even though he was just a dead body, blood still dripped out of the wound.

He raised his bloody hand, and Itachi grasped it, without any hesitation. Sharingan met the gaze of Rinnegan confidently without any fear.

"Shall we begin?"

* * *

><p>"Ah, mou, Saikyo-chan! Today is my turn to make breakfast!"<p>

It's another peaceful day in the Uzumaki household.

Since after the invasion, Karin had moved in together with Naruto in the Namikaze house. And Naruto hadn't hesitated in telling her everything about him, from the fact that he was a person from a bad future, to the nine Tailed Beasts accidentally sealed inside his body. Surprisingly, the girl took them very well without a question, and hadn't even hesitated when asked to sign the Blood Oath. And now, she was living together with Naruto and the Tailed Beasts, who accepted her as a family member.

And since she moved into the Uzumaki household, there had been constant bickering between her and Saikyo on who would cook the next day. Just like today.

"Come on, you two," Isobu said with a yawn, having just walked out of his shared bedroom with the other males. "Can't you just share the kitchen for a day? Everyone knew how good a cook you both are already."

"Yeah," Gyuuki added drowsily. "Even if you two really have to bicker, why don't you just lower your voice a bit? It's just 5:30!"

"Oh, cut it out you two," Matatabi, who had just emerged from inside the kitchen, bopped the two males on the head with a ladle. "Naruto-kun, Goku-kun and Chomei-chan had woken up for an hour you know."

"Well, sorry for not being hyperactive balls of energy like them," Isobu retorted grumpily. Being a turtle, he had the sturdiest body of all the Tailed Beasts, but being spirited and full of energy was just not his forte.

"Besides, what are you even in the kitchen for?" Gyuuki raised an eyebrow. "You can't even cook for your life!"

"Well, it won't hurt trying to learn from the two supreme chefs, will it?" Matatabi smirked. Isobu snorted.

"Yeah right. The last time you tried to cook, you nearly burned down the house. With water. Seriously, how did you even do that after all?"

"Why you…"

A pillow hit Matatabi's face.

"Shut uuuuuuuup…" The sleepy voice of Shukaku rose from the bedroom for the girls. "So annoying…"

The pillow slipped off and fell to the ground, revealing an _extremely _pissed off Matatabi. Isobu and Gyuuki let out a horrified squeak and backed away from her as far as possible.

"Oh now you've done it little brat…"

She took a water bucket at the corner and stalked into the bedroom, closing the door behind her while laughing creepily not unlike another certain blue cat.

Three seconds later, a terrified scream echoed around the house. And everyone was treated to a scene of a soaking wet Shukaku blasting the door off its hinge with a hammer from the middle of nowhere, chasing after Matatabi who was now laughing like a deranged woman.

Unfortunately, the poor catgirl didn't look where she was running to. Therefore, there was no way she could see Karin walking out of the kitchen with a big pot full of soup on her hands.

CRASH!

The pot flew across the air, and dumped all of its content on Kurama, who had just walked out of the bathroom after her morning bath. Wearing only a towel.

"GYAAAAAAAAAA! HOT HOT HOT!"

"What the heck is going on heeeeeeraaaaaagggh!" Goku poked his head into the room from the back door, and was immediately knocked out by a nosebleed seeing a stark naked Kurama rolling on the ground in pain next to a damp steaming towel and a pot whose content was spilling on the ground, and Matatabi and Shukaku tearing each other's clothes apart, knocking Naruto and Chomei who were right behind him down with his falling body.

Suddenly massive killing intent filled the house. The eerie shadows of Saikyo and Karin were looming over them, whose eyes were gleaming with a strange menacing light.

"No. One. Ruins. Our. COOKING!"

The following terrified screams woke the whole Konohagakure up.

"Ahh, such a peaceful day…" Kokuoh, who was sitting at the table sipping on his tea, remarked.

Yep, another peaceful day in the Uzumaki household, indeed.

* * *

><p>"What happened to you?" Sasuke raised an eyebrow seeing his teammate's face. "Your face looks like the Kyuubi had just stepped on it and left you to die."<p>

"…it's even worse," Naruto replied sullenly, and shuddered. Nothing in the world was scarier than a pissed off Saikyo and Karin being together.

Had it not been for some kind of freaky jutsu his dad had installed into the house which could automatically repair any damage, the Uzumaki house would have been in ruins by now.

The two were on their way to the Hokage tower. Yesterday, an ANBU had come to his house to send him a letter with the official seal of the Hokage, requiring him to come to the Hokage tower at 9 the next morning for the result of the Chuunin Exam. On his way there, he had met Sasuke, who was also on his way to the tower for the same reason.

"Wonder what they want to meet us for," said the Uchiha.

"Must be for our promotion," Naruto said smugly. "After all, I'm the most powerful genin in the whole village."

"Only in terms of firepower," Sasuke snorted. "When it comes to skill, you still suck as ever."

"Oh fuck you teme."

They had arrived at the tower while talking. Upon reaching the Hokage's office, they saw Shikamaru, who was sitting outside the room with a grumpy expression on his face.

"Shikamaru!" Naruto waved at him. "You're called too?"

"Duh," the Nara answered in annoyance. "And thanks to that, my mom decided to kick me out of the bed at 5. What a drag…"

Naruto snickered. "That's our Shikamaru, all right."

"What do you think they're going to do with us?" asked Sasuke. Shikamaru just shrugged.

The door next to them opened, and from inside the room, a voice rose.

"Genin Shikamaru Nara, Sasuke Uchiha, and Naruto Uzumaki, come in."

* * *

><p>"The reason we call you here is to announce your official promotion from genin to chuunin. Congratulation, Genin Nara, Uchiha, and Uzumaki."<p>

Naruto nudged Sasuke. "I told you."

"Hn."

"First, Shikamaru Nara," Hiruzen nodded towards the pineapplehead. "You demonstrated a great strategic mind during your battle with Temari of the Sand. You have shown a great mastery over the Nara clan's special brand of ninjutsu, the Shadow Possession Jutsu, and together with your incredibly sharp thinking, it has proven to be a great weapon in your hand. And lastly, during the battle with Juugo of the Scales, despite being completely overpowered, you managed to devise a strategy which, while not being able to help you defeat him, was still enough to hold him back from dealing any considerable damage to the village, and for jonin-level shinobi to come to assist you. You have shown great capability as a strategist, and that is one of the most important qualities a chuunin must have. Therefore, I hereby promote you to the rank of Chuunin, Shikamaru Nara."

Shikamaru grunted and took the chuunin vest from the Hokage's hand, after muttering an unhappy "thanks".

Next, Hiruzen turned to Sasuke.

"Sasuke Uchiha. During your battle with Haku Momochi of Kirigakure, you demonstrated good power and mastery over your elemental techniques, which not many genin not only in Konoha, but also all over the Elemental Continent, can even hope to reach, especially for someone of your age. Plus, even after being put into a clear disadvantage, you still managed to find out the weakness of a jutsu that didn't seem to have a weakness at first and countered it quite effectively. Furthermore, according to what Genin Naruto Uzumaki had reported, you faced the traitor Kabuto Yakushi in the forest during the assault, and didn't submit to the temptation to join Orochimaru. That was the proof of your loyalty to Konohagakure."

Sasuke winced. The truth is, he _was _a little bit swayed by the temptation when Kabuto mentioned of a way to surpass the power of the Mangekyo Sharingan. And he knew Naruto also understood that. But still, he…

"Because of that, I hereby promote you to the rank of Chuunin. I hope your loyalty to Konoha will never waver, Chuunin Sasuke Uchiha."

Sasuke received the chuunin vest from the Hokage, but his mind wasn't paying much attention to it. His eyes wandered across Naruto's face, and the blonde winked.

"Finally, Naruto Uzumaki," said Hiruzen, turning to Naruto at last. "During the final round, due to the invasion, your match was postponed. However, Jiraiya and Kakashi had already supplied me with enough information to assess your skills. You have mastered the Fourth Hokage's signature jutsu, the Rasengan, and have even managed to develop an even more powerful version of it by yourself. During the first part of the second task, you proved your skill in microstrategy and guerilla tactics by booby trapping the whole Forest of Death, ones that managed to cause even Orochimaru of the Sannin great difficulties. And you, together with Genin, now Chuunin Sasuke Uchiha, managed to subdue a jinchuriki. Those were impressive feats which prove your abilities better than anything else. Furthermore, thanks to you, Konoha has gained not one, but two, very powerful and reliable allies. Yes, fighting abilities and strategy are important, but a political, diplomatic mind is also one of the core elements of a good leader, which a chuunin is. Therefore, I hereby promote you to the rank of Chuunin, Naruto Uzumaki."

"Yoohoo! Finally!" Naruto cheered loudly, taking the vest from the Hokage's hands. "I've been waiting for this all the time! Chuunin, chuunin, chuunin…"

"Ugh, so troublesome…" Shikamaru groaned.

"Still an idiot as ever…" Sasuke shook his head.

"That's all for the meeting today," Sarutobi said, closing his note. "Starting from today, you three are chuunin of Konohagakure. From now on, each of you might be selected to become captains and lead your own teams during missions, or even to take missions alone, but that doesn't mean you can forget the basic principle every Konoha shinobi must remember: teamwork. Remember, your team is the reason you could become what you are today. I expect you to not ever forget about what your sensei and teammates have done for you. From now on, you must remember your duty with Konohagakure, and protect her and her citizens with all your strength. Now, dismiss!"

"Sir!"

The three genin saluted, and started retreating from the office.

"Naruto, can you stay for a while? There is something I need to talk to you about."

Naruto turned and blinked at his grandfather figure. What did jiji want with him?

"We'll wait for you at the hospital then, Naruto," Sasuke said, and walked out of the office, followed by Shikamaru, who was still muttering something sounded suspiciously like "troublesome blondes" in his mouth.

"So what do you want to tell me jiji?" Naruto asked when the room was empty again. The Third Hokage just smiled.

"Sit down first, Naruto."

Naruto blinked, and complied quietly with a nod.

Right then, there was a knock on the door.

"Come in," Sarutobi said calmly. Answering the call, Jiraiya and Kakashi pushed the door in.

"What's wrong, Hokage-sama? Why did you summon both of us here?"

"Finally, you two are here," smiled the Hokage. "All right, now that you are all here, I will go straight into what I've summoned you all here today. It is about the will of Naruto's father, Minato Namikaze."

Everyone was taken aback. "My dad's… will?" Naruto muttered in shock.

"Yes Naruto," Hiruzen nodded. "As the person with the highest authority in the village after Minato died, I was entrusted this with the promise of giving it to you when you finally become a ninja. And because you are a chuunin now, I think it's time for me to give it back to you."

He stood up and walked towards Minato's portrait on the wall. The picture was pulled aside, revealing a hidden safe behind it. Hiruzen opened the safe, pulled out an envelope sealed with the official seal of the Hokage and gave it to Naruto. The blonde took it with trembling fingers, and broke the seal, opening it.

Inside the envelope, there were two sheets of paper. Naruto grabbed the rougher looking one, opened it and started reading. It was a letter.

_Dear Naruto,_

_If you are reading this, then I would have been died long before. I don't have much time; the Kyuubi is in the village right now, and I must stop her before things get worse._

_There are many things I want to say to you, and I guess a letter is just not enough._

_The biggest regret of my life is not being able to see my son grow up and become a great ninja. But it is my task to protect the village with all my life, as the Hokage of Konohagakure. But I guess when you receive this letter, you should have already become a ninja, and a fine young man by yourself. I'm proud of you, son._

_Also, please don't hate me for sealing the Kyuubi inside you. I know it will make your life a living hell, and it also pains me that I have to do this, but I have no choice. The one who is controlling the Kyuubi right now is none other than the legendary Madara Uchiha, and if I just break the control over her she will sooner or later be claimed again by that wicked man. You are the only one I trust can keep her at bay and protect her, as well as the whole world, from Madara. _

_The Kyuubi is not the one at fault here. Sure, she is the one who does most of the destruction, but the man behind everything is Madara. So Naruto, if in the future you have to meet her some time, please don't be too harsh on her. I know it must be hard for you, but letting yourself be blinded in the shadow of hatred is not a good way to live. I hope you can find a way to open up her heart, to understand her, what all of her jinchuriki before, even your mother, couldn't do. _

_The dream of my life is to see a world with no war, where everyone can live together in peace. Seems kinda hypocritic, considering I was the ninja who slayed hundreds of Iwa shinobi during the war, right? But I still hope someday, my own son can turn it into reality. No, not "hope", I believe you can, Naruto. After all, you are my son._

_It's time for me to go now. Our force holding the Kyuubi back is failing. Hiruzen-sama won't be able to hold her back much longer. But remember Naruto: no matter when and where we are, in the living world or in the Pure Land, your mother and I always love you with all our hearts._

_Your father,_

_Minato Namikaze._

Naruto didn't even realize the tears rolling down his cheeks, and dropping on the letter, leaving wet spots on the sheet of paper. But why should we, anyway? He just sat there in silence, let the tears fall freely; his hand gripped the paper so hard it was crumpling inside his palm.

Jiraiya's hand gripped Naruto's shoulder. "Naruto, I know it will be very hard for you, but please understand Minato…"

"It's okay, Pervy Sage," Naruto shook his head. "At first, I was angry and sad too, but… yeah, I realized. Being Hokage means putting the sake of the village above everything else. Dad didn't have a choice back then. Besides…" Naruto took a deep breath and smiled, "… probably if Dad hadn't done that, I might not be able to have all the friends I'm having now. So why should I hate him for that?"

A warmth spread across his body when Naruto thought about his friends. "Yeah, my dream is to follow the footstep of my Dad and the other Hokage, to protect my precious people. But I will do better than that. I will protect all my precious people, which is everyone, not only my friends, my senseis, jiji… but also anyone I can, and I will also create a world of peace, what my Dad dreamt on but could never finish. Believe it!"

The three men looked at the boy with a shared enormous affection and admiration.

"You really are a son of your father, Naruto," Kakashi rubbed the boy's spiky hair with an eyesmile. "I'm proud to be your sensei."

"Hehe," Naruto grinned back. "I've been hearing that a lot these days."

"So, I think it's time for the content of the will, isn't it?" Hiruzen said, and Naruto nodded. He pulled the second sheet of paper – a white, fine one with the stamp of Hokage on it – out of the envelope and opened it. Inside was the same narrow writing they had seen before.

_**The Last Will and Testament of Minato Namikaze, the Fourth Hokage**_

_To my wife, Kushina Namikaze-nee-Uzumaki, I leave the Namikaze estate and all of its belonging. In the case she dies together with me during the Kyuubi's attack, the house will be put under the care of Hiruzen Sarutobi until my son Naruto reaches 16, or is promoted to chuunin, when it will be returned to him._

"So that's how you could give back the house to me that easily huh jiji," Naruto looked at the Hokage, who smiled.

"Well, yeah. In here it notes that I can only return it to you when you reach 16, but technically, you are already, so yeah, it's kinda easy. Good for you."

_To Konoha orphanage, I leave ten million ryo of my bank account, in the hope they will use it to take good care of the children there, give them better living condition and education, and give them a happy life._

"Yeah right," Jiraiya snorted disdainfully. "Should we really do this part of the will? As if they could give children there a good life when the only thing they could do was kicking Naruto out of there, not once or twice, but many times whenever the ANBU found him and delivered him back there!"

Sarutobi shook his head sadly. "We have to. After all, Minato was also an orphan; he has the right to do that to show his gratitude to the ones who took care of him when he was a child. This is his wish, and we have the obligation to do it."

"It's okay Pervy Sage," Naruto chuckled. "It's not like I hate them much for it you know. Well, looking back at it, maybe their decision was a good thing for me too, because I don't think I could have gotten the skills I managed to learn during my childhood if I had just stayed there and been a good kid."

The bitterness in Naruto's voice made the three adults wince. They looked at each other awkwardly, then urged Naruto to continue.

_To my sensei, Jiraiya, I leave all my researches about fuinjutsu and the Rasengan, in hope you will continue developing them and teach them to Naruto when he grows up and becomes a ninja._

"Why didn't Dad just give me all the researches directly?" Naruto raised an eyebrow. Kakashi laughed, and rubbed the spiky hair again.

"Because he knew you would never be able to learn them properly. Someone as hyperactive as you can never be able to sit in one place to read a book for more than ten minutes."

"Hey, I can totally read a book you know!" Naruto scowled unhappily. Everyone just chuckled.

_To my last student, Kakashi Hatake, I leave my collection of romance novels, including my original, unabridged first edition of Icha Icha Emotion, in the hope he will use it as a source of knowledge to find a girlfriend soon, who can help him forget about the horrible things that happened during his life._

The three adults in the room shared the same gasp.

"Hmm?" Naruto raised an eyebrow. "What's wrong with you all?"

"This… this is the ultra rare book every fan of Icha Icha dreams of!" Kakashi exclaimed in awe, still staring at the paper with his visible eye widened. "This is Icha Icha Emotion, the first book of the Icha Icha series, now has been discontinued publishing! The only book I don't have! And the very first edition, second only to Jiraiya-sama's draft, to boot! Sensei, I love you!"

Naruto looked back at Sarutobi, and was disgusted to see the man drooling on his desk. "Perverts, all of you…" he muttered. He returned back to the paper, and turned to the last paragraph of the will.

He choked back a gasp. This is it; the part dedicated to Naruto himself.

_To my son, Naruto Namikaze, I leave the remaining of my assets, including fifty million ryo in my bank account, which will be trickled into a trust vault for him to access until he reaches 18, when the account will be transferred to his name completely. Furthermore, in the case his mother Kushina Uzumaki is gone during the Kyuubi attack, her shares of the will shall be under the care of Hiruzen Sarutobi until they are claimed by Naruto as noted in the second part of this testament._

_I also leave Naruto my first ever Flying Thunder God kunai, in the hope my son will figure out the secret behind the jutsu himself, and use it to its fullest potential._

When Naruto saw the rusty, dull knife Sarutobi had just pulled out and set on the table, he couldn't help feeling a definite sense of anticlimax.

"That's it? No awesome jutsu, no cool weapon, no badass personal summon or kekkei genkai? All I got was a house, some money and an old knife?"

Jiraiya bopped Naruto on the head. "That was already too much to ask, brat."

"Naruto," Hiruzen asked, looking straight into Naruto's eyes. "Do you know why the Flying Thunder God jutsu, the one Tobirama-sensei created and perfected by Minato, which caused havoc all over the battlefield during the Third Shinobi World War, was not available for all Konoha shinobi to use?"

"How should I know?" Naruto shrugged. "Is it because it is a forbidden jutsu or something?"

"Wrong, Naruto," the Hokage shook his head. "Back when Tobirama-sensei invented the jutsu, he was the only person who knew it. No one in the world knew how to use the jutsu, and maybe because of paranoia, Tobirama-sensei personally destroyed every record about the jutsu, including the description, the instruction, the drawbacks, everything, after he had mastered it. In a way, he had a point, because that jutsu, in the hand of the right person, might be more dangerous than even the Impure World Reincarnation jutsu. Just look at Minato to see. This jutsu is also the only jutsu in Konohagakure outside of kekkei genkais which I cannot use."

Naruto was dumbfounded hearing this piece of information.

"Wait wait wait. That doesn't make sense at all. If that's the case, how did my dad even know…"

Then an idea hit him. "No way. Are you saying that my dad literally _reinvented _that jutsu from scratch?"

"Bingo!" Jiraiya answered him instead with a grin. "And just like the Second, Minato understood immediately the risk of leaving such a jutsu freely behind. That's why after teaching the jutsu to his Elite Guards, he also destroyed all of the documentation, and the Guards also had to sign a Blood Oath not to ever reveal the secret of the jutsu to anyone else. So yeah, you can never find a piece of paper with anything about the jutsu in Konoha, hell, in the whole world, Naruto."

"Great," Naruto muttered. "Just great. So you leave your own son, who sucks ass at anything related to book studying, to freaking reinvent the jutsu which took two biggest geniuses in the world to figure it out… Very sweet, Dad, very sweet…"

"Oh, come on now, Naruto," Kakashi slapped Naruto on his shoulder. "You perfected the Rasengan in a week, and even managed to add elemental chakra into it, a feat deemed impossible even for Minato-sensei. Why shouldn't you be able to work the Flying Thunder God out? You have already surpassed your father!"

"Naruto, Minato entrusting this to you means he believed that you can do it," Jiraiya nodded. "By giving you the way to the jutsu which brought him to power, he also gave you his dream. That's the kind of person Minato was. He was hoping with the help of the jutsu, you could achieve the dream he couldn't ever achieve, even with the power the jutsu gave him."

"His dream, huh…"

Naruto reached out his hand, and lifted the special kunai up. The knife was very old; the steel blade was dull and covered in rust already, but somehow, when Naruto's fingers touched it, for a moment he felt like his father was standing beside him, rubbing his hair and smiling at him in encouragement and pride.

Just like that time in his mindscape…

"Heh," he suddenly chuckled. "I keep insisting that there is no such thing as fate, and yet… it's just like Fate favors me way more than anyone else. Being the son of a Hokage, inheriting the blood of one of the most powerful clan, blessed with the power of friendly Tailed Beasts… And beyond that, I was also allowed to work everything out again… I really don't want to, but it seems Fate forced me to be a hypocrite."

"The world is full of hypocrisy, Naruto," Hiruzen shook his head. "But that doesn't mean anything. Do you remember what Neji Hyuuga said during his battle with Sakura Haruno? _Trying to change yourself through hard work is just an illusion. _And still, someone like him, who was definitely favored by Fate by being blessed with a powerful kekkei genkai, and being a genius of the Hyuuga clan, was defeated under the hand of a normal kunoichi. Fate can only decide that much of your destiny. The remaining is of yours to create by yourself. And considering what you have been through, you must have understood it.

"Who was the one who helped you mastering the Shadow Clone Jutsu? No one. You stole the Forbidden Scroll, and learned the jutsu by yourself. Who was the one who helped you perfect the Rasengan? No one. Kakashi taught you the wind element, but that's all he did. No one else can work your life out for you. Everything you do in your life is a stone you set to build your own way of life. So there, take the kunai, figure out the secret by yourself and make your father proud."

Unconsciously, Naruto squeezed the handle of the kunai on his hand. The wood handle, while old, still didn't bear any sign of weathering through time. When he held it in his hand, he could feel some kind of heat warming up his heart.

He finally understood. It was the "love" his father had wanted to give him. And he would not disappoint him.

"There is another thing we need to discuss about," Sarutobi continued. "Now that the identity of your parents is revealed, you can finally take the name of your father as your family name. Which means, your name is legally Naruto Namikaze now, and thus…"

"No."

The Hokage blinked upon the very confident, decisive answer of Naruto.

"No," Naruto repeated as firmly as before. "I appreciate that, and having my dad's name is a great honor, but I will keep my name as it is right now. I don't want to depend on my dad's name to gain people's attention. I want to prove that I can become stronger and achieve everyone's recognition as Naruto Uzumaki, ninja of Konohagakure, not as Naruto Namikaze, son of the Fourth Hokage."

The three men stared at the blonde boy in front of them in awe and admiration. This is no way the mindless babbling of a kid; no kid can say things like that. It's definitely the speech of a grown up, experienced adult who has been through many battles, who understands the true meaning of life...

Although, there was still some problem…

"Kakashi-sensei, when you said you would take money from the Namikaze account to treat Anko-sensei… where exactly did you get them from?"

Kakashi was suddenly very interested in a bird flying outside the windows.

* * *

><p>"Ahh… it feels great to finally be able to get out of the bed…"<p>

Sakura stood up from her hospital bed, stretching her arms and legs. Staying in the hospital for half a month was boring and annoying even for her.

Especially when her two teammates had already been promoted to chuunin, and she wasn't.

"Don't force yourself, Sakura," Sasuke's voice rose. "You have just recovered; moving around too much is not very good for you."

Sakura raised an eyebrow. "Okay, who the heck are you? Sasuke-kun would never speak anything as _sweet _as that. Quick, Naruto, call the ANBU! There is an imposter over here!"

Next to her, Naruto rolled on the floor roaring in laughter while Sasuke sputtered indignantly; a tint of pink could be seen clearly on his cheeks.

"Sorry, sorry," Sakura laughed, wiping a drop of tears from her eye. "But it's so funny seeing you like that, Sasuke-kun. At least you were able to open yourself up a bit."

Sasuke just turned away, grumbling unhappily. Naruto was still giggling like crazy.

"Besides, it's not like I can afford to stay here any longer," Sakura added. "You two are both Chuunin now; I need to start training again as soon as possible if I want to keep up with you."

"Uhm, Sakura, you don't have to do that," said Naruto worriedly. He had stopped laughing. "The next chuunin exam is in a year, there is still plenty of time…"

"No Naruto," Sakura shook his head. "Chuunin or not, it's not important. It's just… Both of you are incredibly strong with Sharingan, the Kyuubi… everything, and I'm just a normal girl, without any special power. I will just be everyone's burden; that's why I must train whenever I can so that I can someday catch up with you! I want someday to be able to stand together with you two, not as a girl who you have to protect every time, but as your teammate, someone worth being in the same team as you."

The two boys stared at her for a few seconds. Then Sasuke smirked.

"You know what? Being able to say things like that makes you more than worth being in the same team as us. I really didn't expect to hear that from you of all people."

Naruto winced. "Oi, that's a bit harsh of you, isn't it?"

But contrary to what Naruto had thought, Sakura immediately perked up.

"Yes! And that's why I must start now! Sticking here longer will not help; let's go and start training!"

"But you should still find something to eat first," Sasuke pointed out. "You look too thin for it to be healthy. It's not wise training under this condition."

Then he was startled when the girl suddenly grabbed his arm.

"Yep! And you will be the one who treats me!" she said happily, pulling the stoic Uchiha out of the room. Sasuke squirmed uncomfortably.

"Naruto, a little help here?!"

"Nah, I still need to visit someone else," Naruto grinned, waving back at him. "Enjoy your date, you two!"

"Naruto your traitoooooooooor!"

The hysteric voice of poor Sasuke echoed around the hospital.

* * *

><p>Naruto knocked on the door of Hinata's room. A weary voice rose from inside the room.<p>

"Come in."

He pushed the door open, and saw Hiashi Hyuuga sitting on a chair next to his daughter's bed.

The Hyuuga patriarch looked terrible. His face was pale; well, much paler than a normal Hyuuga could be. His long, black hair, which every Hyuuga is proud of, was now disheveled badly, as if he hadn't combed it for days, and was starting to lose its color; right now Naruto could see clearly the white strings between strands of black. Dark shadows were visible under his eyes, and the Byakugan themselves had horrible bloodshots. It was clear that the man hadn't slept for days.

Seeing Naruto, the man's eyes hardened, and his shoulders stiffed up.

"Uzumaki-san. What brings you here?" he asked with a rather harsh voice, and veins bulged up at the corners of his Byakugan. Naruto didn't blame him; after all, Karin was the one who had tried to sell Hinata to Orochimaru.

"I'm here to visit Hinata-chan," he answered, looking straight into the Hyuuga patriarch's Byakugan without any fear. "And please, Hiashi-san, don't look at me as if I was going to kidnap Hinata-chan, okay? The last time I look, I was still a very loyal Konoha shinobi!"

The two males continued to glare at each other for a while. Then Hiashi's shoulders slumped back down, and the man looked as weary and sad as Naruto had seen him before.

Realizing that it was safe to speak again now, Naruto took a step closer to Hinata's bed.

"How is she?"

"Nothing we can do," the Hyuuga man shook his head. "No medical ninja here could find a way to wake her up. Only someone with the skill of Tsunade-sama might have a chance to do that… but it's impossible. But maybe this would be better for her."

"What did you say?" Naruto screamed in rage hearing what the man had said. Then, remembering that he's still in the hospital, he gritted his teeth and lowered his voice, but the rage was still clear in his tone. "How dare you saying that! Your own daughter is lying here in a coma, and you _dare _say that it would be better for her? What kind of father are you?"

Hiashi didn't even budge. "Hinata is not born to be a ninja. A ninja has to be ruthless against her enemies. Hinata is too kind and soft; that's the reason why she can never be a good kunoichi. With her staying in a coma like this, she will not have to mind the business of fighting, hurting or killing people anymore. That's the best I can do for a person like her."

Then he saw Naruto's fist launching at his face. But, with the reflex of a veteran shinobi, and a Hyuuga no less, he easily caught the punch of the boy. He growled menacingly.

"What is the meaning of this, Uzumaki?"

"You bastard," Naruto growled back. "What makes you say that? What gives you the _right _to say something like that?"

"I am her father, brat," Hiashi snarled. "I know what is good for her and what is not."

"Even if you are her father, you still don't have the right to say that she is not worth becoming a ninja," Naruto also snarled, even more menacing than Hiashi. "Hinata-chan was not weak. She never is. She has been trying to improve herself, to prove that she's not weak to you! She did everything to gain your approval; if you say it like that it will be nothing more than spitting on her existence!"

Suddenly Naruto felt the knuckle of a hand bashing at his face. He stumbled back painfully; his eyes felt like hundreds of glittering stars had just exploded in front of him.

"You little brat," the Hyuuga patriarch barked at his face. "What do you think you know about my family? What _can _you know? You never have any family to begin with! So don't speak to me as if you understand the way I treat members of my family!"

Then he stormed out of the room, slamming the door behind him shut on his way. But before the man disappeared behind the door, Naruto could clearly see him muttering something, but the distance between them was too far for him to hear. Alone in the room with an unconscious Hinata again, Naruto slumped down on the floor, his head spinning.

* * *

><p>"<strong>I can't believe the father of such a sweet girl as that Hinata girl can be such a jerk," <strong>Shukaku complained.

"_**You**_** know what a sweet girl is like?" **Chomei stared at Shukaku incredulously.

"**What is that supposed to mean, bug?"**

"**Come on, you two…" **Matatabi sighed, walking over to pry the two girls off each other.

"**Um… Even though Hyuuga-san said that, I don't think he had any bad intention…" **Saikyo said meekly. Everyone turned back and stared at her.

"How could you say that, Saikyo-chan?" Naruto said, a little bit harsher than usual. "He just denounced every effort of Hinata-chan right before her eyes! Well, not quite so, but it was still right in front of her! What kind of father would do that to his own child?"

"**I agree with Saikyo, Naruto," **Kurama shook her head. **"Before, when he said that, I felt a tremendous amount of negative emotion. Most of it was sadness and despair. Why did someone who meant to say things like that about his child feel such emotions? There is a huge contradiction between his emotion and what he said!"**

"**You sound too much like a lawyer specializing in analytical psychology," **Gyuuki smirked at Kurama. The kitsune glared at him, annoyed.

"**That man has a twisted sense of love," **Matatabi said sadly. **"Maybe he felt that if Hinata-chan was kept in here, she would be protected from what were waiting for her in the outside world…"**

"**But that is just hypocrisy!" **Isobu protested. **"Everyone knows how the shinobi world is; it's full of danger! How can he keep her inside everytime? It will just turn her life into a prison!" **

"**Sadly, that's what an overprotective father in despair tends to do," **Kokuoh shook his head. **"Usually, when something bad happening to people close to someone, the impressions from the event will be imprinted into his brain, making them more and more paranoid about the safety of his acquaintances. There must have been some kind of trauma during his past which happened to Hinata-san or someone else very close to him; maybe it has haunted him since that day…"**

Matatabi and Gyuuki looked at each other guiltily.

Naruto suddenly bolted up from where he was sitting.

"**What are you doing, Naru-kun?" **Chomei asked.

"I cannot let this continue anymore," Naruto answered her with a determined voice. "How much he actually cares about Hinata-chan, I don't know, but he did that without even considering what Hinata-chan herself would think. That, I cannot allow continuing. I will wake Hinata-chan up, and let her ask him by herself."

* * *

><p>"What happened to you, Naruto?" Sakura raised an eyebrow when she and Sasuke saw Naruto running toward them, breathing heavily. The boy just answered her with a grin.<p>

"No time to explain. There is something I want to ask both of you…"

* * *

><p>"Jiji! Team 7 requests a mission!"<p>

* * *

><p><strong>AN: This chapter is kinda calm, isn't it? But like people say, there is always a calm before the storm :3**

**Please review!**


	21. Chapter 21: A New Old Mission?

**Well, having idea is one thing, but turning it into a story is a completely different matter, you know.**

**But anyway, I'm back with Chapter 21! Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto; that right belong to Masashi Kishimoto.**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 21: A New… Old Mission!?<strong>

"So, our target is Tsunade-sama, one of the Legendary Sannin, just like you?"

Jiraiya nodded to answer Sasuke's question. "Yes."

"Wow, that's incredible," Sakura said in awe. "To think a kunoichi can match the power of someone like you…"

"You will be surprised, little girl," Jiraiya smirked. "Tsunade is one of the most powerful kunoichi in the entire world. Her power must be on par with, if not exceed, the power of the Mizukage. During battle, she usually doesn't bother using flashy ninjutsu or genjutsu, although I assure you she is perfectly capable of utilizing both; just a punch of hers is enough to reduce the whole battlefield into debris. She is also the best medical ninja across the whole Elemental Continent; healing people who were cut in half is just a child's game to her. Some people even rumored that she had reached immortality herself."

"Wew," Naruto whistled, feigning impressed. "A legendary medic with power to shatter enemies in a single punch… Sounds really like your style, Sakura. Maybe you should ask to be her apprentice when we meet her…"

Sakura blushed slightly, but smiled nonetheless. Because she herself was thinking that too.

"Good luck with that," Jiraiya snorted. "Strong as she might be, she is still incredibly stubborn. Since the day she was promoted to jonin, she has only taken one kunoichi as her apprentice, who is now traveling together with her. Not to mention that the apprentice is someone very close to her too."

"But the reason for us to bring her back is not simply to cure Hinata. There must be something else behind the Hokage's decision to so easily assign us this mission right upon Naruto's request, am I right?" Sasuke asked sharply, and Naruto had to refrain himself from rolling his eyes.

Just leave it to Sasuke to figure out the true meaning behind everything.

"Sometimes you are just too sharp for your own good, Sasuke," Jiraiya shook his head. "Yes, Hiruzen-sensei and the council also want Tsunade to go back to the village to act as the Head of Konoha Medical Corp. After the invasion, Konoha, while winning decisively, still suffered from a drastic decrease in political position. Tsunade is too great of an asset to Konohagakure; bringing her back to the village will improve the power of the village a lot."

Then suddenly he giggled. "And she is incredibly hot, too…"

"So that's the main reason you want to bring her back, huh," Sasuke scoffed in disgust. Jiraiya raised his hands in defense.

"Hey, hey, brat. You will soon need to learn about the beauty of the female body if you want to revive the Uchiha clan someday. Why not trying it now?"

"Don't poison Sasuke-kun's mind with your filthy thoughts!" Sakura yelled, and kicked Jiraiya in the balls. The two other males winced.

_This girl is too brutal for her own good…_

"Anyway… Where are we going to go to find her?" Naruto questioned. The last time, they had found Tsunade in Tanzaku, a small town not far from Konohagakure.

Jiraiya, now having managed to stand back up, answered. "Well, according to my source, right now she is in Tanzaku Town, but she is going to leave there this morning to Takigakure."

Naruto blinked. That was new.

"Takigakure?" Sakura pondered. "Isn't that the village almost no one knows exactly its whereabout? Why is she going there?"

Jiraiya nodded. "It is true. However, I don't think her destination is Takigakure itself. There is a small town near the village named Takayama, which is famous for the greatest sake brewery in the whole Elemental Continent. And the first brew of the year is coming in a few days. I don't think Tsunade wants to miss that."

"But isn't Tanzaku Town the biggest gambling district in the Land of Fire?" Sasuke raised an eyebrow. "What the hell is she doing there anyway?"

"Well, Tsunade is not only well known as a legendary medic; she is also known as the worst gambler in the world," Jiraiya scratched his head. "Her luck in gambling is so abysmal she can lose even with a four of a kind. Sadly, she likes gambling, and…"

"… So the so-called Legendary Sannin consists of a pervert, a homosexual pedophile and a sucky gambler who likes to get drunk," Sasuke remarked dryly. "I lost every bit of respect I used to have for you, if there was any."

"Ouch, burn," Naruto winced.

* * *

><p>"Somehow I suddenly have an irresistible urge to punch something," a blonde busty woman muttered in her breath.<p>

* * *

><p>After three days of walking nonstop, the team finally arrived at Takayama Town.<p>

They had decided to go straight to Tsunade's next destination without following her trails. After all, even if they tried to go after her, they wouldn't be able to catch up with her like that, considering she had had half a day of headstart before them.

"Wow, this town is not the same as I thought."

Naruto marveled when they took their first steps into the town. Anyone who saw it would have realized it's not a mere town; the fresh and clean air of the coast, the beautiful beaches with snow white sand, the old historical buildings, together with its famous brand of sake, made the rather small town a great tourist attraction. No wonder why there were so many people here.

"Well, by taking the shortcut here, we are already one day ahead of Tsunade," Jiraiya said. "If my calculation is right, she will arrive here tomorrow morning. We will have a day to rest and prepare ourselves. I doubt the talk with Tsunade tomorrow will be an easy conversation."

A tense silence followed these words. Then, Sakura raised her voice.

"Um, Jiraiya-sama… We're here to find Tsunade-sama, but we haven't met her before. How can we find her if we don't know what she looks like?"

Jiraiya scratch his head. "Well, she is blonde, and beautiful… Oh well, the best way to know is to show you what she looks like. Here."

He pulled out a photo from inside his pouch. The three children stared at the square piece of paper.

"_This_ is Tsunade?" Sasuke asked in disbelief.

"She is so… young," Sakura agreed. "I thought she was of your age, Jiraiya-sama?"

"She _is _of my age, but…" Jiraiya answered with a wince. "Well, let's just say as a legendary medic, she possesses a jutsu that allows her to change her appearance to be younger than her age shows. That's why she looks like that."

"Sounds too much like a vain woman who cannot accept that she is old," Sasuke snorted.

'_That's because she _is _one,' _Naruto rolled his eyes, thinking.

Jiraiya winced again. "Don't say that to her face if you don't want to get punched into the sky, brat."

"This is stupid," the Uchiha complained. "Why should we waste our time chasing after someone like that? I should have stayed at home and trained!"

"This is a team mission, and you have accepted it," Jiraiya glared at Sasuke; there was no trace of the goofiness from before on his face. "If you go back now, the mission will be considered a failure. You don't want your first mission as a chuunin to fail, do you?"

"Ugh…" Sasuke winced. The man's words had struck right through his heart. He really didn't want to fail the very first mission he took as a chuunin.

"Fine," he spat out. "I'll go book the hotel rooms."

Then he threw a nasty glare at Naruto and walked away.

"Hey, don't glare at me!" Naruto called after him. "It is you who insisted on joining this mission!"

"Fuck you, Naruto!"

* * *

><p>Naruto was strolling through the forest at the border of the town.<p>

After Sasuke went back to the hotel, Sakura also left, saying that she had some supply to stock up. And Jiraiya also ditched him for his "research" at the local hot spring.

So it left Naruto with nothing to do, and he decided to take a stroll around the town.

And obviously, after such a long walking, he was tired.

Naruto sat down on the bark of a tree. He pulled out his father's kunai, stared at it and scowled lightly. He had a feeling that the seal on the knife was staring back at him as if mocking him.

He had never seen any seal so complex before. Well, he had, when fighting together with his Dad during the last War, but still… Sure, Pervy Sage had taught him a few things about fuinjutsu during his trip, but how can they expect him to break such an incredible workmanship by himself with such limited knowledge?

Gyuuki's attitude towards this didn't help him a little bit. When he showed the ox-topus the kunai, he just stared at it for a few seconds, and suddenly burst out laughing.

"**Don't worry Naruto. You will understand it, sooner or later."**

Yeah, that's exactly what he had said.

The problem is, _how_?

'_**It is easy Naruto. It's just that you don't have enough knowledge to understand it yet.' **_He heard Gyuuki speaking from inside his head.

'_Yeah, very helpful,' _he snarked. _'You are the grandmaster of sealing; of course _everything _is easy to you!'_

'_**Well, since you're asking, I'll give you a hint. Looking at the seal itself won't help you; you have to look underneath the underneath. Think outside the box.'**_

'_What kind of hint is that? That's not helping at all!'_

Suddenly he heard a noise. He jumped up in alert, his hand immediately raised the kunai out of instinct, but it didn't seem there was any enemy at all. The noise sounded like… splashing sound. Like someone was doing the water walking exercise on a stream.

Curiousity took over Naruto's mind. He stood up and took off towards the direction of the sound.

'_**Uh, Naru-kun, I don't think that's a good idea…'**_

'_Come on, Chomei-chan! I'll just take a look! What can happen?'_

Tempting fate is never a smart thing to do, Naruto.

* * *

><p>A few seconds of tree hopping led Naruto to a small waterfall in a clearing. It reminded him of the waterfall he used to train in when he was home: clean and clear; the water rolling down making a small pond at the foot of the cliff. It was just like the waterfall site in his village, except without the girls running and playing in the water.<p>

Wait a second…

There _was _a girl here. She was dipping in the pond; her small, delicate right hand was trailing across the smooth skin of her left arm. Her soft, mint-colored hair seemed to glitter in the sunlight.

And she was completely naked.

'_**That is Fuu-chan!' **_Naruto heard Chomei yelling inside his head.

'_Your jinchuriki?' _Naruto asked in panic. He had wanted to meet another jinchuriki, but not in this situation!

'_**Now is not the time! Run!'**_

'_What…?'_

Right at that time, the girl turned her head. Her eyes met Naruto's.

_Ooh, orange!_

The pretty orange eyes narrowed, and she raised her hand.

'_**Uh oh, not good…'**_

"LIGHTNING STYLE: PERVERT BLASTER!"

And everything went flying.

* * *

><p>"Why do I have the feeling that Naruto is doing something that makes me feel really proud of him?" Jiraiya suddenly lifted his eyes off his "research" and muttered.<p>

"Kyaaaaaa! Pervert!"

"Well, damn."

* * *

><p>"Ugh… what hit me?" Naruto groaned and opened his eyes. The last thing he could remember doing was staring at a naked green haired girl in a pond, then getting blasted in the face by an orange beam of lightning.<p>

How can lightning be orange, anyway?

"Well, _I _hit you. Now give me a reason why I shouldn't blast you into oblivion for peeping on me while I'm bathing."

Naruto shot up upon hearing the voice looming over him.

Fuu was glaring down at him with an annoyed expression on her face. Thankfully for him, she was fully dressed now.

"I'm really sorry!" Naruto bolted up on his feet. "I didn't know you were bathing over there; I just thought that there was someone here and I needed to check!"

"Uh huh," Fuu raised an eyebrow, clearly not convinced.

'_**Fuu-chan tends to get very violent when someone peeps on her,' **_Chomei quipped from inside Naruto's head.

'_Oh, yeah, thank you very much,' _Naruto shot back; his voice was full of sarcasm. _'Why didn't you mention that _before _she blasted me with lightning?'_

'_**Ehehe… oopsie?' **_Chomei chuckled nervously.

"Oy, don't ignore me like that, Ero-kun."

Naruto blinked, and realized Fuu's face was just an inch from his own. He yelped and rolled away, his face burning red.

"D-don't do that! And my name is not Ero-kun; it's Naruto, believe it!"

"Oh, then, my name is Fuu, Naruto-ero-kun," the girl answered him with a giggle, and Naruto groaned.

Then Fuu noticed Naruto's headband. "Oh, you are a Konoha shinobi."

"And you're from Taki, aren't you?" Naruto answered her, pointing at her neck, where her hitai-ate was tied neatly. The two shinobi looked at each other, and suddenly broke out laughing.

"You're funny to talk with, Naruto-ero-kun," Finally, Fuu said between laughters and tears.

"I thought I told you not to call me that…" Naruto pouted.

"All right," Fuu grinned, ignoring him. "Since you've already got a peek on my body, I think it will be fair if you have to take… responsibility for that."

Upon hearing those words, Naruto's face immediately went pale; his body cringed up, and he crouched down and held his head as if there was a giant blade going to decapitate him from behind.

"What are you doing?" Fuu raised an eyebrow seeing the boy's strange reaction.

"Sorry," Naruto mumbled when he saw that there was no Kubikiribocho trying to off his head. "My friend likes to say things like that to tease people, and her father tends to get kinda… violent when he hears those words."

"Ahh," Fuu nodded in understanding. "Nah, don't worry, it's not like I want to kill you or anything. But you must go on a date with me!"

Naruto felt as if there had just been a bullet wheezing across his ear.

"What," was the only smart word he could utter.

"You heard me," Fuu winked at him with a giggle. "I'll pick you up at five tonight! And don't you dare run away, because I _will _know, ero-kun, and I will drag you back!"

And she disappeared in a swirl of dust, still giggling like crazy.

"…what the heck just happened?"

'_**That's my Fuu-chan, all right,' **_Chomei giggled inside his head. _**'Now you have a date to prepare for, Naru-kun!'**_

Naruto groaned.

* * *

><p>One of the many key factors shinobi have to remember when going on missions is mobility. They usually have to move quickly from place to place in order to track down targets, and also have to keep the agility necessary for battles.<p>

Therefore, they usually don't pack much when preparing for missions. They tend to just pack some important equipment such as weapons and first aid kit, and stock up the rest at the nearest town possible.

That's the reason why Sakura had to go to the drugstore so hurriedly right after they reached the town. She forgot to include a… well… rather crucial equipment for girls on puberty in her luggage.

Sakura walked out of the store with a rather glum expression. It was embarrassing for her to forget something like that at home. At least she's still lucky; had they been late for one day only…

"Well, at least I'm fine now…"

Deliberately, she walked step by step on the street leading back to the hotel Sasuke-kun had booked. The meeting was tomorrow, there was still a lot of time to spend…

Her eyes met a small shop at the corner of the road.

The shop was old and dusty. The sign at the front of the door had a faded symbol of an anvil engraved on it. Getting closer and looking through the window, Sakura could see swords, armor sets, knives and many other things hanging on the wall.

A weapon shop, in the middle of a tourism town. No wonder why the shop was empty.

Her heart fluttered a bit. She had always wanted a weapon for herself. Sasuke-kun had his katana, and was very talented in using it. Naruto… well, he didn't use weapons much, but his Rasenshuriken jutsu might count as one, and it was destructive as hell.

There was not much hope for her to find a good weapon in a place like this, though… but still…

Sakura pushed the door. The wooden structure opened with a creak, and a chime of a bell could be heard somewhere deep inside the shop. She stepped into the store and looked around.

Standing inside the shop made the space seem to be even smaller. The ground was littered with anvils, hammers and other forging tools, all covered in a thin layer of dust. The weapons hanging on the walls had gathered a considerable amount of dust on them, too. The forge seemed cold, as if there hadn't been anyone using it for a long time.

"What do you want?"

Sakura's heart nearly jumped out of her chest. She snapped her head back, and launched a punch at the source of the voice behind her.

And to her horror, her fist was caught in midair.

Standing in front of her was a man. She didn't know when the hell he had arrived.

The man was exactly what Sakura would imagine about a blacksmith. His chest and arms were hidden inside a long-sleeved shirt, but even with that, Sakura could literally see all the powerful muscles bulging up on his body. His skin was dark; Sakura didn't know it was because of lengthy exposure to heat and flame, or of the coal dust from the forge, or even both. His spiky hair was mainly white, sparing some strands of red among it. And strangely, even though he was not a ninja, Sakura could still feel an incredible aura of power around him.

The man released Sakura's fist, and she stumbled back.

"I… uh… I want to buy a weapon!" she said, stuttering a bit.

The man snorted.

"What?" the girl asked, a little bit offended. "Can't someone like me use a weapon?"

The man snorted again. "No. I just want to ask what you are doing here. You are, or at least have been training to be, a hand-to-hand combat specialist, not a weapon user, so why wasting your time here?"

Sakura gaped. "How did you know that?"

"Anyone who has a good look at your body can say that," the blacksmith answered curtly. "That tight shirt you're wearing cannot hide the developing muscles on the upper part of your body, including on your shoulders, your upper torso and your flat chest," he pointed at Sakura's A-cup breasts, making her blush in embarrassment and anger. "And the muscles on your biceps and forearms are more developed than the other parts of your body, which means you mainly use your fists in battle, but they seem to be a little bit weaker than they should have been, considering the power of the punch you tried to deliver on my face earlier. And your movement doesn't have the elegance of a swordsman, and your reaction before when touched suddenly was punching the opponent, not reaching for the hilt of a sword. All those evidences led me to the conclusion that you are a hand-to-hand combat practitioner, but you have stopped training for a while due to some reasons I don't know. Am I right?"

Sakura's mouth nearly dropped to the ground now. "How did you know all of that?" she repeated the question from before, and the man smirked.

"I am a professional blacksmith; that's in my blood."

"Does that mean I cannot use a weapon?" Sakura looked at the ground dejectedly. The blacksmith raised an eyebrow.

"When did I say that? Yeah, you really don't have compatibility for swords and things like those, but who stops you from trying other kinds of weapons? Luckily for you, I have a selection of weapons for hand-to-hand users. Come with me."

* * *

><p>The blacksmith led Sakura to a smaller room at the back of the store.<p>

The room was more like a warehouse than a showroom of a shop. It was filled to the brim with not only the normal weapons Sakura usually saw, but also some strange kinds she had never seen anyone using before.

Seriously, who would use a flute in a battle?

* * *

><p>Somewhere else, a red haired girl suddenly sneezed violently.<p>

* * *

><p>"These weapons are the best ones my family has ever made," the man explained while leading Sakura through a line of shelves. "They range from weapons made by my great-great-grandfather to things I made myself… although I won't say that I can be as good as my predecessors."<p>

"Wow," Sakura said as she looked around. "But if they're so good, why are they sitting back here gathering dust?"

"What do you think?" the blacksmith scoffed. "Since this became a tourist town, people haven't found a need for weapons anymore. The only people who want to buy weapons here are yakuza family members, or sometimes bandits; I don't want to give these good weapons to them to harm people. That will just tarnish the name of my family."

Sakura blinked. This was the first time she heard about a vendor who didn't want to sell his goods. But she thought it would be the best not to ask him about it any further.

Instead, she asked. "Why are you selling them to me?"

The man raised an eyebrow. "Are Konoha ninja a bunch of heartless bastards who like murdering people for fun, raping defenseless women, robbing poor farmers who just accidently cross their path?"

"What… Of course not!" Sakura retorted; she didn't like hearing her own village insulted like that. The blacksmith just shrugged.

"Then what is the reason for me not to sell you the weapons? So long as you don't use it to shame the face of its creators, it's fine to me. Our weapons aren't created for evil. And you don't look like the type of person who likes doing evil deeds to me."

Sakura just stood there, dumbfounded upon the unreasonable trust the man had given her.

Sometimes, people are just… weird.

The two stopped in front of a small shelf at the back of the warehouse.

"Here you go. This is where we store our equipments for hand-to-hand combat users. Feel free to check and choose."

Sakura looked at the shelf. There were not many things here; after all, with a taijutsu user, his body was already his greatest weapon. Instead, the shelf was filled with equipments to support the body, such as body armors, shoulder protectors, gauntlets, or even the weight sets Lee and Gai-sensei like to use.

But Sakura still couldn't find anything good for her. She didn't need armor; her fighting style focused mainly on flexible and quick movements, and a thick armor would just slow her down. A set of weight would be nice, but her body was still recovering, and they could be found very easily in Konoha anyway.

Then something caught her eyes.

At the deepest corner of the shelf lay a pair of gauntlets which looked completely different from the other ones lying on the shelf. They consisted of a pair of black leather gloves with steel reinforcement and red gems engraved as built-in knuckle dusters. At each wrist, a bracelet made of an unknown golden metal served as the protector, and purple armored plates covered half of the user's forearm. But what attracted Sakura the most were the red crystal fit in a slot on each cuff. Even though they were lying at the deepest part of the shelf, there was absolutely no trace of dust on the gauntlets. When Sakura took them off the shelf, she was surprised that despite the bulky design, the two gauntlets felt incredibly light.

"Ah, I see you have finally found them."

Mesmerized by the beauty of the weapons on her hands, Sakura completely forgot about the existence of their owner. So it wasn't a surprise that she nearly jumped to the ceiling when his voice rose right next to her ears.

"This is the masterpiece of my great-great-grandfather, the first owner of the shop. Incredible weapon designed for people who like to finish battles with one decisive hit. They have many unique functions too… but since my great-great-grandfather created it, none has been able to afford them, or worthy enough to even touch them."

"Um… how much are they?" Sakura asked in thrill, but the price the blacksmith gave her nearly made her fainted at spot.

"No less than one million ryo."

One million ryo… All of her life, Sakura couldn't even dream of owning such a huge amount of money. It was like, the payment for at least twenty S-rank missions. She knew that the pair of gauntlets was definitely worth the price, but how in the world could she find so much money?

"Sorry, but I don't think I can afford it," she said sadly, putting the gauntlets back on the shelf. "And thank you for helping me, sir," she bowed politely and started walking out of the store. Her eyes lingered on the weapons another time before she closed the door behind her back.

"Sakura?"

She blinked. Naruto was standing right in front of her, with his trademark foxy smile on his face.

* * *

><p>"You didn't need to do this for me…" Sakura mumbled, looking at the pair of gauntlets on her arms which Naruto had just bought for her. They fit snugly on her, as if they were designed specially for her.<p>

The blonde jinchuriki answered her with a grin. "Don't worry; you won't receive another birthday present from me in the next twenty years."

Sakura smiled. No matter what happened, Naruto was still Naruto. "That would be fine. Thanks, Naruto."

The two walked side by side in silence for a while. Then Sakura asked.

"So what happened earlier Naruto?"

Naruto shrugged. "Nothing much. I met the Nanabi's jinchuriki, though."

Sakura stopped dead on her track. "Eh?"

"Well, it was like this…"

* * *

><p>"WHAAAAAAAAT!?"<p>

Naruto winced. "Geez, Sakura, don't be so loud! Everyone would hear you!"

"So let me get this straight," Sakura said with a strained voice, her eyebrow twitching. "You accidentally peeped on the jinchuriki of the Nanabi, who turns out to be a cute girl from Takigakure, and after blasting you in the face, she forced you to go on a date with her tonight?"

"Uh… yeah, basically that," Naruto scratched his head nervously.

Sakura's eyebrow twitched even harder. "Can I punch you Naruto? Because I really want to punch something right now."

"Please, don't."

"Ugh," Sakura groaned exasperatedly. "We're on a mission, Naruto! You can't just go date people from the middle of nowhere like that! What if she is an enemy?"

"I don't know. She doesn't feel evil to me. I can sense emotions, remember?" Naruto shrugged.

Then an idea hit him. "Wait a sec… You are not jealous, are you?"

The next thing he knew was that he was sprawling on the ground, a painful bump on his head, and Sakura stomping away with her face beet red.

'_**Yup, she **_**is **_**jealous,' **_Matatabi commented.

* * *

><p>"Yeah… that's right… a little bit more… heeheehee…"<p>

"Jiraiya, can I talk to you for a while?"

The aforementioned pervert scoffed in annoyance, his eyes didn't move from the girls he was "researching"on. "What now, Naruto? Can I do my research once without your rude interruption?"

"I'm not Naruto."

Jiraiya turned, and saw Sasuke standing behind him.

"Sasuke?" he raised an eyebrow. "What do you want from me?"

"Can you take me as your apprentice?"

The Uchiha's sudden request had the power to made Jiraiya stand up.

"Why do you want me to train you?" he asked, his eyes bore into the Sasuke's own eyes. Sasuke very calmly received the gaze of the Sage, not even faltering a bit.

"I have chosen my path," he said. "The way of thinking of my clan is wrong, and it is my duty to atone for the sin of the clan. Sooner or later I will have to face the real person who was responsible for everything that happened, the man even Itachi is afraid of. So I need to become stronger."

Jiraiya's eyes drilled into the Uchiha's hazel orbs calculatingly for a while. Then he said.

"One lesson for you, Sasuke Uchiha, is that when you want to ask people for a favor, don't ever lie or hide anything from them. I doubt the reason you said was the only reason you asked me for help."

The serious gaze of Jiraiya sent a chill down Sasuke's spine. He sighed, his shoulders slumped down.

"You are right. The truth is… Well, what I told you is one reason, but… I'm also afraid of Naruto, to be honest. He has grown up… in a rate so incredible it scares me. He has completely surpassed me, even when I have the power of the Sharingan. When we were in the academy, he was the one who always tried and failed to catch up with me, but now I'm the one who has to struggle to keep up with him. If I can have such a good teacher as you…"

_Interesting. So that's the reason…_

"So basically, you come to me just because you're desperate to surpass Naruto, aren't you? You're jealous of him being stronger than you in just a short time."

Sasuke lowered his head. "Well, yes… but… no, not quite. I _am _jealous, but… Strong as Naruto is, there is no way his level can compare to the monster even Itachi is afraid of. He was the one who unleashed the Kyuubi on Konoha. Someone with the power of that scale… There is no way… If I cannot become stronger than Naruto, there is no way I can face him. And to think of that… he is also an Uchiha. It is a clan matter. It must be me who will face him. I cannot pull anyone else into danger just because of someone in my clan," he finished with a bitter tone.

Jiraiya raised an eyebrow. _Naruto has really changed this boy. I can't believe I will live to see the day an _Uchiha _find the courage to accept that he is weaker than other people. And an Uchiha who could frankly admit that he cares for other people, too. There might be hope for him yet…_

"Sorry Sasuke, I cannot help you. I already accepted Naruto as my apprentice, and I cannot have two at once."

Sasuke's eyes hardened in anger and sadness. "I see…"

"However, that doesn't mean I cannot give you an advice. Remember," he lowered his voice to a whisper, "after all, the Legendary Sannin are not the strongest shinobi of Konohagakure."

Jiraiya didn't say anything else, but Sasuke's eyes suddenly widened. "You mean…"

"You know what I mean, boy," the Toad Sage answered him with a smirk.

"I understand," Sasuke nodded. The scowl on his face had disappeared, replaced by a slight smile. "Thank you, Jiraiya-sama."

He didn't realize he had just used an honorific, what he had never done before.

* * *

><p>Naruto fidgeted awkwardly.<p>

In his whole life, both in the past… well, _his _past, and at present, he had asked Sakura for a date countless times. But this was the first time someone else asked _him _for a date.

A complete stranger to him, nonetheless.

Well, not a complete stranger, considering he had fought her zombie body to the death in the past, but still…

'_**That doesn't count, you know,' **_Isobu said. _**'Fighting a zombified body of someone doesn't mean knowing her.'**_

'_Well, that's true, but…'_

"So you really are waiting for me, teehee."

Naruto blinked, and realized Fuu's face was hanging upside down right in front of his nose.

"Uwaaaaaah! Where did you come from?!" he shrieked, not unlike Sakura when she was still Sasuke's crazy fangirl.

Then he realized. "Wait a second, how did you find where I am staying? I know for sure that I didn't tell you anything about it!"

Fuu answered him with a wink. "That's a girl's secret~!"

'_**It's the bug on your hair.'**_

'_Huh?'_

'_**Fuu-chan had hidden a little bug in your hair when you first met her,' **_Chomei answered with a giggle. _**'She exudes some kind of unique pheromone which can only be smelled by me and Fuu-chan, and that's why Fuu-chan could get here without even asking you for the address, teehee**__**!'**_

'_Why didn't you tell me that before?'_

'_**Uh… Because it's so cute seeing you and Fuu-chan going on a date?' **_the bug chuckled nervously.

'_You disregarded all of my personal space so that you can set me up on a DATE!?' _Naruto screamed mentally, and Chomei let out a meek "eep" in response.

"Oi, why is it that whenever you talk to me, you have to zone out at least once like that?"

Naruto blinked, and saw Fuu, now standing firmly on the ground, pouting at him in annoyance.

_Well, she _is _kinda cute like that… What the fuck am I thinking!? I'm being corrupted!_

Inside his head, giggles rose.

'_Stop laughing, damn it!'_

"All right, so if you're done, let's go for our date~!"

With those words, Fuu grabbed Naruto's collar and dragged him away, an incredibly cheerful expression on her face.

_Why must I be in a bad written fanfiction with an author who doesn't know a shit about romance…?_

* * *

><p>Turns out, their date was nothing different from dates of other normal couples.<p>

They walked around the town hand in hand, had dinner, played games at game booths, things like those.

They didn't kiss, though. Their relationship was just not deep enough for them to do that this early. Besides, Naruto had a feeling that if he did that, he would be murdered tonight in his sleep by at least two people.

And now, they were sitting on a grassy hill at the edge of the town, staring at the beautiful starry sky and relaxing.

"You are weird, do you know that, Fuu-chan?"

Fuu answered him with a (too) cheerful giggle. "Yes, I know. Everyone told me that."

"But this is kinda ridiculous, you know? Why are you so sure that I would accept this date with you?"

Fuu grinned mischievously. "Because I will beat you to a pulp if you don't. And that's not a threat; that's a fact."

Naruto winced. Another violent girl in his life…

"So basically, you forced me into this because you want a date."

"Yep," Fuu nodded, still smiling cheekily. "But it was because you're kinda cute too."

Naruto blushed upon the comment.

He stared into the sky again. "It's so beautiful. The stars."

Fuu dropped her body on the grass. "Yeah. No matter what happens, no matter how long, they will always stay together on the sky… just like best friends…"

Naruto couldn't help noticing her voice getting a hint of sadness. This was the first time since he had met her that there was sadness in her voice.

"What's wrong Fuu-chan?" he looked into her eyes. "Is there anything bad?"

Fuu turned her head away. "No, it's nothing… Just forget it." Then her cheery smile returned to her face. "Let's go do something else; my strength has already recovered!"

She jumped up, but suddenly she felt her body being pulled down. Naruto was holding her detached sleeve with his hand.

"Ahh…"

"You don't have to push yourself like that, Fuu-chan," he pulled her sit down again, then wiped her eyes with his finger. She didn't even realize that tears had rolled down her cheeks. "If you have something in your mind, you can just tell me. Maybe I can help you…"

"You can't. There is nothing you can help…"

The words choked in her throat when she saw Naruto's eyes.

Those eyes… she had never seen anyone with eyes like those. Whenever someone got close to her, they would just give her glares of disdain, because of the Tailed Beast sealed inside her. She couldn't even understand why people would do that; Chomei is not a bad person… well, beast, but whatever; how can someone who is always so happy, so cheerful be an evil monster who only knows how to destroy?

But this boy… This is the first time someone looks at her with those caring eyes. This is the first time someone _dares _looking at her with those eyes. And it made her feel happy. For a moment, she felt that maybe if she opened up to him, he might…

"How can you say that if you don't even tell me the reason? I am your friend, right?"

But…

_I am your friend, right?_

"I'm sorry, I got to go."

She jumped up on her feet. On her shoulders, a pair of orange insect wings sprouted out, and with a quick leap, she soared into the sky.

"Fuu-chan…"

Naruto mumbled sadly, looking at the back of the girl which was disappearing into the forest. He could still feel the damp and the heat of her tears on his hand, which felt like seeping through his skin, right into his heart.

* * *

><p>That night, Naruto couldn't even get a glimpse of sleep.<p>

After 2 hours rolling around without being able to calm his mind down, Naruto bolted up from his bed, and entered his mindscape.

"Chomei-chan, are you awake?"

"**Huh…?" **Chomei lifted her head up sleepily. Seeing a giant bug like her doing that was kinda weird. **"What's wrong, Naru-kun? It's midnight already…"**

"Can you tell me something about Fuu-chan? After all, you have stayed with her for a very long time…"

The air became heavy. For the first time, Naruto could feel sadness in Chomei's voice.

"**Fuu-chan was burdened with me since she was a baby, just like you, Naru-kun,"** she said. **"And also like you, everyone in her village was scared of her, except for the village leader and his son, and I was her only friend. But despite everything, Fuu-chan had always shown a face full of happiness and joy, as you has seen when you first met her, Naru-kun."**

"Mm-hmm," Naruto nodded. "It's hard not to feel happy when you're with her, right?"

"**Yeah… but even so… well, she didn't admit it, but 'friend' is kinda a taboo word to Fuu-chan. She was always jealous with people who have friends surrounding them, as no one except for two other people wants to even go near her. She didn't even have a genin team; accompanying her to missions was always two jonin whose sole task was preventing her from going out of control. She desperately wanted a friend; that's why she always acts like a stupidly cheerful girl to get people's attention. But… even with that, no one would bother sparing a glance at her. To them, she is just a monster who is trying to trick people with her smiles and happy talk."**

Naruto winced. "Ouch. It was just the same as me. It must have left a very deep scar in her mind."

"**Yeah," **the beast agreed. **"Maybe that's why she reacted like that in your date; you said that you were her friend, and it was the first time for her, and… well… I think she was shocked, and scared too. It was too sudden, and I don't think the heart of a person who was isolated half of her life can take it that easily. And maybe… maybe she thought if you knew she was a jinchuriki, you might abandon her in fear, just like other people in her life."**

Naruto suddenly punched the sakura tree. He was just a midget comparing to the height of the tree, but somehow, his punch managed to shake it dangerously.

"Goddamnit," he growled. "This is not fair! This is not fair at all! I have been a jinchuriki all my life… fighting through wars… but I still…! Why are jinchuriki everywhere always treated like monsters? Even those who don't even have any intention to do harm to people… Those like Fuu-chan, who only wants the life of a normal girl… Even ones like B were just tools for war… When I finally unite the world, I will make sure that all jinchuriki are treated as normal people, have friends and aren't used for wars any more…"

"**You think it's that easy? Can't believe that someone like you can still be that hopelessly naïve."**

Naruto snapped his head back. Shukaku, of all people, was sitting right next to him since who knows when.

"When did you come here?"

"**A while ago," **the tanuki grumbled. **"How can anyone sleep with you two talking so loudly like that?"**

"What do you mean I'm naïve?" Naruto demanded, looking at the beast.

Shukaku answered Naruto with a question. **"Do you know the reason why the villages seal us inside jinchuriki?"**

"Of course I know!" Naruto answered angrily. "They want to use your power as weapons; what else?"

"**Yes, but that's only the tip of the iceberg," **Shukaku snorted. **"The true reason, and the more important one, is that humans are full of greed and hypocrisy. All those things, sealing us into jinchuriki, blah blah blah, only originate from a mere fact that they cannot accept that we have power they cannot control. **

"**Since the day the old man unveiled the secret of chakra, the first thing they've ever thought about is how to use it as weapon for wars. When they discovered that we're beings made of chakra, born from the Juubi itself, their first thought was 'Oh god, they're too powerful! They will destroy us!' They used that excuse to imprison us into things like kettles, pots, like what I had been imprisoned inside before I was sealed into Gaara. And then, after they finally achieved something, they tried to imitate our father, sealing us into people to make us weapons. Everything they did, they gave it the name of 'for the greater good'. Disgusting."**

"You think I don't know that?" Naruto growled. "That's why I'm going to make everything right after…"

"**What you don't know is," **Shukaku cut him short, **"greed, hypocrisy, lust, and everything, they are in the blood of human. They lie within the very instinct that makes them humans. There is no way you can purge them out of their blood with just with a few empty words. I will tell you this: your wish to unite people under your idealistic peace is just a naïve illusion. Unless people can truly learn to think, to care about others, you will not, ever, be able to make them change!"**

Naruto felt like Shukaku had just punched him in the face.

"**Shuki-chan!" **Chomei exclaimed in horror. **"How could you say that?"**

"**What? All I've said was the truth. If Naruto cannot handle the truth about the ones he was trying to save, he doesn't deserve our help. Because he will never be able to do anything after all if he continues thinking in that naïve way."**

Naruto suddenly bolted up and disappeared from his mindscape without a word.

"**Shuki-chan! Why did you do that?" **Chomei yelled at Shukaku. The tanuki shrugged.

"**Why shouldn't I? I didn't say anything wrong."**

"**Of course you did! That was too harsh on him! He didn't do anything to deserve that!"**

"**Oh, I think he more than deserves that," **Shukaku snorted. **"Am I right, Kurama?"**

Chomei's head snapped back at where Kurama was lying. The fox's eyes were now open, and were now staring at the two other beasts, her tails waving around.

"**Kura-neechan! Surely you cannot mean that, can you?"**

Kurama didn't say anything for a while. Then, when she finally said something, it was this.

"**Well, Shukaku is right, but at the same time, she is wrong."**

Both Tailed Beasts were taken aback. **"What?" **Shukaku growled angrily.

"**What Shukaku said was true, indeed," **the kitsune continued.** "Everything about human's sins, the darkness… yeah, you won't be able to find a human without them in this world. Even Naruto himself isn't exempted from them; if I have to say, he is one of the most flawed people in this world. His past, together with everything he had suffered during his life, well… he doesn't show it, but he is actually full of hatred and despair inside his heart."**

"**Ha! So I'm right!" **Shukaku smirked triumphantly.

"**Yes, but this is where you're wrong, Shukaku. When he decided to embrace his dark side into him, he already accepted that getting rid of the darkness completely was impossible. That's what made him different from other humans: others might either succumb to the darkness and let it take over their minds, or abuse the darkness to gain power and let it grow further inside their hearts, and soon are consumed by it. Naruto is different. By accepting that the darkness is always inside him, he already understood that darkness is not a toy, and because of that, he doesn't stray into the path of darkness, like the Uchiha boy had done. Naruto is the very proof that humans can change themselves."**

"**Hmph," **Shukaku snorted. **"Well, let's just assume that humans can change themselves like you have just said. But also as you said, Naruto is different from other humans. Not every human can accept that they are flawed and full of darkness in their hearts. And not every human can be willingly ready to change like our little brat here." **

Kurama sighed. **"Well, that's the problem..."**

* * *

><p>Skip. Skip. Skip. Splash.<p>

Naruto stared at the bouncing stone on the water surface and sighed.

It's not like he didn't understand what Shukaku had said. It's not like he hated her for saying that to his face, either.

It's just… even if everything was true, he didn't want to hear it. He didn't want to accept it.

Yes, it was ironic. When he went training with Jiraiya, he had learnt about his dream for peace, and since then, he had inherited the old sage's dream as his dream. He had dreamt about making a peaceful world where there are no more wars, where everyone was treated as equal, where everyone would live together in love and happiness.

But the problem is… even if he knows what true peace is… what can he do to achieve it?

Now that he had time to think about it, Nagato and Obito's methods might be extreme, but at least they had both found a way. But Naruto… his idea might sounds good, but if what Shukaku said was true… then it is really an impossible naïve dream.

How can he change something that is already in the blood of every human?

"Naruto? Why didn't you sleep?"

Naruto nearly jumped hearing Jiraiya's voice behind him.

"Geez, Pervy Sage! Don't scare me like that!"

"You know what?" the Toad Sage scowled. "I won't tell you not to call me with that name again another time; it's already annoying enough."

Then he changed his tone. "So why are you sitting here all alone, in the middle of the night like this? I doubt someone like you can lose sleep if there isn't a particular reason."

For a moment, Naruto had wanted to say: "I'm fine."

But then he found out he couldn't say anything like that. Before he could know it, words had flown out of his mouth like a stream, more than he had talked during the day – about the meeting with Fuu, about the sudden date she had forced him into, about her reaction when he said he wanted to be her friend, and….

"…and then Shukaku told me that, and now I feel… empty. Is my way of thinking, my ideals, wrong? Is it true that there is no way for humans to live together in peace?"

Jiraiya had let Naruto talk himself into silence without interruption. And when he finally opened his mouth, it was like this.

"Well, who knows?"

Naruto gaped. "What? But…"

Jiraiya shrugged. "You heard me. You're not the only one who has ever thought about peace, Naruto. Many older, smarter shinobi than you, including your father of course, have dreamt about creating a peaceful world where there is no war, no fighting, and people can live happily ever after with each other. And despite that, no one could ever find a clear answer for that question, even your old badass, handsome legendary master here," – Naruto snorted at this – "so yeah Naruto, how can I give you the answer for a question even I don't have the answer?"

Naruto's shoulder slumped. "Yeah, I know. I understand that it was too much to ask…"

"But Naruto, somehow I got a feeling that you are taking things too seriously," the Sage continued. "Try to relax, liven things up a bit first, will you? Being like this is in no way healthy for you."

"What?" Naruto stared at Jiraiya in disbelief. "You understand how dangerous Madara is, don't you? I cannot relax now, what if-"

"Yes, but I am not talking about that. From what I have learnt while staying with you, and from what Kakashi had told me, you have become kinda… what to say… obsessed with peace, Naruto. The only thing you would say these days is 'peace', 'peace', 'peace'. Are you still Naruto, or have you become a robot who can only speak about peace?"

Naruto opened his mouth to protest, and realized he couldn't make a sound.

"Naruto," Jiraiya grabbed Naruto's shoulder. "Peace is no doubt a good dream. But if you become too obsessed with it, doing everything and anything just to achieve it, you will just become a chessmaster, a manipulator. You will be no different from Madara. So there, don't try to force everything to change by force, or try to force it to become like it was in your future. A little push for people to become better is fine, but don't let yourself become a control freak. That's not good for you, or for anyone."

What the sage had just said sent Naruto into a deep thought.

He had never thought about that before, actually. When he first came back, his first reaction had been panic. The thought of having to do everything again, once more, was thrilling to him, but at the same time, it was also an idea that made him scared. And of course, the first idea he had come up with was doing something to make this world better, just like his… world…

Oh. Oh.

He was stupid. His timeline was like shit. If he really wanted a better future for this world, the last thing he should do was forcing it to become like his world.

At least Naruto could finally understand what Jiraiya had wanted to say to him. Sometimes, the best way to do things is _not _to do them.

The two shinobi sat next to each other in silence for a while. Then Naruto asked.

"Pervy Sage, have you ever thought of a way to bring peace to the world?"

Jiraiya answered him with an ear-splitting grin. "Of course I did! What do you think I created the Icha Icha series for?"

Naruto's brain stopped. "What."

"That's right!" the sage answered cheerfully. "There is no better way than to unite humankind in a world of perverts!"

"…I shouldn't have asked," Naruto deadpanned.

"Oh, chill out, brat," Jiraiya smirked and giggled. "Next time you and that jinchuriki girl go on a date again, call me. I will need you two for my… research… hehehe…"

"Screw you, pervert!"

* * *

><p>'<em><strong>Why did you run away like that, Fuu-chan?'<strong>_

Chomei (the other Chomei) complained inside Fuu's head. Right now, the girl was curling up into a ball on top of a tree, and for some reason, she was shivering like crazy, despite the fact that the weather was pretty warm.

'_I… I don't know, Chomei-chan,' _Fuu stammered. _'I'm… I'm scared. This happened so suddenly… I don't know…'_

'_**You are contradicting yourself, Fuu-chan,' **_Chomei deadpanned. _**'Haven't you been trying to find a friend your whole life?'**_

'_But… no one has ever come to me and told me that I am his friend before! What if…' _Fuu's eyes widened, and she wailed in panic. _'What if he is someone… someone sent here to trick me… and to kill me?'_

Had Chomei been in her human form right now, we could have seen her rubbing her forehead in annoyance.

'_**Oh, quit it with those paranoid thoughts, Fuu-chan! Have you forgotten that positive emotions are my specialty? I could sense that he was sincere. At least give him a chance, will you? This is a chance for you to have another friend beside me!'**_

_Friend, huh…_

Come to think of it, it was kinda true. Despite craving for friendship for a very long time, she had never known what having a real friend would feel like. No one would even look at her when she tried to befriend them; they would glare at her with fear and walk away. And now, when someone finally accepted her and wanted to be friends with her, she freaked out and walked away… just like other people did to her.

Maybe Chomei was right. Everything has its first time. Maybe she should just try it…

But there was only one thing…

'_Why are you so insisted on making me Naruto-kun's friend? I doubt it's not only for me to have a friend.'_

'_**Uh… Hey look, it's late! Better go sleep! See ya later Fuu-chan!'**_

'_Oi! Hey! I haven't finished with you yet! Come back here, Chomei-chaaaaaaaaan!'_

* * *

><p>"Ahh… this first brew of Takayama's famous sake is always the best, isn't it, Shizune?"<p>

A blonde, busty woman slammed her saucer down the table with a loud sigh of satisfaction. Her partner and apprentice, a younger… well, not younger-looking, black haired woman complained.

"Tsunade-sama! You have already drunk too much! If this goes on, even the store won't have anything else to sell you!"

"Oh, chill out, Shizune…" the blonde woman answered with a slightly slurred voice. "We have more than enough money to buy all the sake in this store, aren't we?"

"Yes, but if you continue to get yourself drunker and drunker, you will soon scare all the customers of the store away, Tsunade."

The two women snapped their heads back, and saw a middle-aged man with white long hair standing right behind them, together with three teenagers wearing Konohagakure hitai-ate.

The man grinned, waving at them.

"Long time no see, Princess."

* * *

><p><strong>And...<strong>

**The old mission, with many unexpected changes.**

**A new friend for Naruto. And in case anyone is wondering, I haven't watched the anime, so if there is something inconsistent in her personality and things... please don't flame me.**

**Sakura got herself a new weapon suit for her style of fighting.**

**Sasuke got some advices from Jiraiya.**

**What will happen, now that they have met Tsunade?**

**Stay tuned! And please review!**


	22. Chapter 22

**Sorry for taking such a long time to finish this chapter! Thank you for all the reviews, and for patiently waiting for me.**

**There is something I have to make clear to you. Naruto doesn't have the Rinnegan here, and I don't plan for him to acquire them. He will become powerful, sure, but not with Rinnegan or any overpowered Kekkei Genkai. That would just be cheap, and ruin everything I have planned for him from the start.**

**So please, enjoy chapter 22!**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 22: More Talking, More Betting, More Fighting, and…?<strong>

"Jiraiya?" Tsunade bolted up from her seat, so fast she nearly flipped the table up. "What are you doing here? And who are these brats?" she pointed at Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura accusingly.

Jiraiya grinned. "Tsunade, meet Naruto Uzumaki, Sasuke Uchiha and Sakura Haruno. They are three of the most promising genins of this generation. Team 7, meet Tsunade, old woman who likes to make herself look young, legendary medic and the unluckiest person in the whole world when it comes to gambling."

Even Shizune couldn't hold back her laughter completely.

Tsunade narrowed her eyes looking at the three teenagers. Her eyes lingered at Naruto for a while. Then she said.

"So this is what you are trying to do to force me to go back to that cursed village? Well, too bad, the answer is still no."

"You still haven't heard our request, and you already snapped out your answer like that?" Jiraiya sat down on the table, and poured himself a saucer of sake from Tsunade's bottle. "Just listen to what we have to say first, will you?"

Tsunade's eyes bore into Jiraiya's face calculatingly. Then she snorted, and reached out for her bottle again.

"Very well. So what is your story?"

Jiraiya drained his saucer with a gulp. "Well, the reason is…"

"Oi, baa-chan over there! We want you to heal someone!"

Jiraiya's palm met his face. "Very smooth, Naruto… very smooth…"

Tsunade's eyes turned to the blonde. "And you are…?"

"It's Naruto Uzumaki, believe it! Jinchuriki of the Kyuubi, son of Kushina Uzumaki and Minato Namikaze, at your service!"

Jiraiya sighed, and slapped Naruto at the back of his head. "You don't go around screaming your parents' names and your jinchuriki status out to the world like that, Naruto!"

Naruto shrugged. "Whatever. If you want me to, I can jump to the top of the highest building in Iwagakure and scream 'I am the son of the Yellow Flash' for you. I bet old man Tsuchikage won't mind that."

"Idiot!"

Meanwhile, Tsunade was fuming. How dare the brat call her "grandma"!

Minato and Kushina's son be damned. Jinchuriki of the Kyuubi be damned.

No one is gonna call her "grandma" and get away with it!

"Insolent brat…"

"We need you to heal the heiress of the Hyuuga clan," Sasuke cut in. "You are the only person who can wake her up from her coma, so…"

Sasuke couldn't finish his sentence, because a wave of killing intent had made him choke on his tongue.

"And pray tell, why should I listen to the words of a brat like you?" The brown eyes of the woman drilled into Sasuke's Sharingan, and they had the strength to make even Sasuke retreat a few steps.

The killing intent coming from her must be at least as strong as, if not stronger than Orochimaru's…

"Surely, you don't have to scare those children like that, do you, Tsunade? That doesn't suit someone of your status, you know."

Jiraiya's voice was calm, and somewhat relaxing, but somehow, the killing intent Tsunade was exuding suddenly halted on its way and faded harmlessly into thin air. The woman glared at her fellow Sannin in annoyance.

"Actually Tsunade, that's exactly what we're here for," Jiraiya continued without even flinching against his ex-teammate's glare. "The heiress of the Hyuuga clan was injured gravely during a battle in the Chuunin exam, and is now in a coma none of the medics in Konoha could wake her up from. That's why we're here to request your assistance. You can always treat it as a request from the Hokage himself."

"So the old coot is still alive, huh," Tsunade emptied her saucer into her mouth again. "He is a fool for taking the position of Hokage again at that age. I wonder how he wasn't killed by Orochimaru during that battle in Konoha."

"He is much stronger than you think, Tsunade," Jiraiya said in a stern voice. "Had it not been for him, we wouldn't have been able to kill Orochimaru and save the village."

"Whatever," the female Sannin waved him off. "Anyone who takes up the mantle of Hokage is a fool. Being Hokage means putting your life at risk. And life is not the thing for anyone to bring out for gambling."

"I'm starting to dislike this woman already," Sasuke, of all people, whispered into Naruto's ear in annoyance.

"But anyway, we are not here to discuss about Hokage being fools or not," Jiraiya insisted. "The Third has also issued a request for you to go back to lead the Medical Division of Konoha since you leave the village; even waking a girl up from her coma is impossible for them. We need you there, Tsunade."

Tsunade's eyes narrowed again.

"So everything is just about me going back to the village, huh? Sorry, but it won't work. I won't ever go back to that accursed village."

"What? But Hinata-chan…" Naruto started to protest, but the woman cut him short.

"That girl? If she couldn't stay awake after a fight in the Chuunin exam, then she shouldn't even have taken it in the first place. The Chuunin exam is completely voluntary; no one can force anyone to take part in. It was completely her fault for stumbling into something she cannot handle."

"You…" Sasuke growled out, but his voice was stopped by Sakura's voice, who chose this moment to open her mouth for the first time since they stepped into the pub.

"But isn't the duty of a medic is to help people regardless of who he or she is?"

The girl's voice wasn't loud or anything, but there was a deep, clear sarcastically disappointment in her voice everyone could hear. Tsunade growled menacingly.

"What are you implying, brat?"

Sakura didn't even flinch. She responded, still with the blunt and snarky tone from before.

"I am not implying anything; I am saying it straight to your face. I think your reputation as a legendary medic is just a hoax."

"What did you say?" Tsunade snarled, slamming her saucer down on the table in rage. But Sakura didn't even plan to stop. She continued, not realizing Tsunade's face was turning purple.

"When I heard from Jiraiya-sama that you were a legendary medical ninja, I have thought of asking to become your apprentice, because I have been dreaming of becoming a medic ninja, too. But when I finally am able to meet you… I'm disappointed. You are vain, you are a drunkard, and you refused to treat a patient who was lying at death's door! You don't even deserve to be a medic, not to mention a legendary one!"

Then she saw a fist launching at her face. She tried to move away to dodge, but found out she couldn't. Or rather, she could, but with the speed that fist was flying into her face at, dodging was useless. She couldn't even close her eyes; she is going to die, and nothing can help her skull from being caved in by that hammer of death…!

Then, to her surprise and relief, the deadly fist stopped, an inch right from her nose.

_Why did she…?_

"What is the meaning of this, Jiraiya?"

The angry voice of Tsunade snapped Sakura out of her stupor. She blinked, and saw Tsunade's arm being held back by Jiraiya, who, from god knows when, had been standing up, his arm holding Tsunade's wrist.

"That is enough, Tsunade," the Toad Sage said in a stern voice, his eyes bore into Tsunade's face. "A person like you, trying to kill a genin out of rage? That's not like you at all."

"Hmph," Tsunade scoffed, slapping Jiraiya's hand away. "She asked for it herself." Then she turned to Shizune, and yelled. "Shizune! We are leaving!"

The other woman stood up, a little bit shakily, bowed towards Jiraiya hastily and followed her master, who was pushing the door of the store open.

"Stop right there!"

Everyone turned to Naruto, who had just barked out those words. The blonde was now pointing at Tsunade, his face glowed with fury.

"You are not going anywhere until I drag you back to Konoha with us," he declared, while still glaring at the blonde woman. Tsunade barked out in laughters.

"Ha! You really think you have a chance against me? Don't even dream about it; you won't even be able to land a hit on me anyway!"

Naruto didn't even faze. "Let's take it outside, baa-chan!"

* * *

><p>"What is Naruto doing? He is going to be killed for sure!"<p>

Sasuke turned into Sakura, who was trembling like crazy. "Surely you're not exaggerating, do you? She is scary, indeed, but I doubt she would be able to harm Naruto."

"No, you don't understand, Sasuke-kun," Sakura said, still trembling. "That woman… she is not the normal kind of person you can underestimate… That punch she threw at me from before… Even though it didn't hit, I could still feel my life flashing through my eyes. I really don't want to know what would happen if she actually hit me. Please Sasuke-kun… please stop Naruto…"

A little further away from them, Naruto was screaming and pointing at Tsunade.

"Get ready to go back to Konoha, old hag!"

Tsunade smirked haughtily. "Ha! Come back after at least 30 years, brat! The likes of you won't be able to even land a hit on me! Oh, I forgot, I have already said that! Hahaha!"

Naruto gritted his teeth. "Just you wait! I'm kicking your ass, and you will come with us back to Konoha! Believe it!"

"Oh, really?" Tsunade smirked. "Then come at me; one hand is enough for me to stomp you into the ground!"

"Really? If that's the case, how about two of us?"

From the back, Sasuke had stepped in since god knows when; his katana was already unsheathed, and was now pointing at the blonde woman.

"Sasuke-kun…!" From behind him, Sakura gasped in surprise and horror.

Sasuke answered her with a grin; his eyes didn't leave Tsunade a second. "Let's see if the power of one of the Legendary Sannin is as great as rumored or not."

Tsunade didn't bother to answer the taunt of the Uchiha; she just snorted, and waved at the two boys, as if challenging them to attack her.

* * *

><p>"Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!"<p>

As usual, the Uchiha opened combat by his clan's signature jutsu. After the Chuunin exam, thanks to all the training he had done, the power of the jutsu had been improved significantly, and now, the gigantic fireball was flying across the air, aiming at Tsunade, who wasn't even trying to do anything to defend herself against the jutsu.

"Heh," the Uchiha smirked.

But then, his smirk immediately melted into a gape when the blonde woman cocked her fist back and **punched**.

To his horror, the giant ball of fire was dispersed immediately and easily upon contacting with her fist. No, not dispersed, more like **shattered**; that was the only word able to convey the feeling Sasuke had right now. How someone could shatter fire with a punch was completely beyond even his wildest imagination.

"What the…"

The force coming from the punch was so great even from afar, Sasuke could still feel the air around him wheezing across his ears. If he had taken that head on, his head would have been shattered instead of the fire ball.

_Is… is this the true power of a Sannin…?_

Now he understood why Sakura suddenly became so scared.

"Weapon Projection Jutsu!"

From the other side, he heard Naruto yelled. With a flash of white light, twenty kunai appeared out of thin air and launched themselves towards Tsunade. But the woman didn't even flinch a bit. With a quick stomp of her right foot to the ground, a slab of dirt rose up right in front of her, and all the kunai embedded themselves into the wall and popped away harmlessly.

"Hey! No fair! You said you would only use one hand!"

"I said I would use one hand; I never said that I would _only_ use my hands," Tsunade taunted back, and Naruto fumed in rage.

"That's not fair at all!"

Meanwhile, Sasuke was sweating bullets. Kakashi had stomped it into his head that one of the most important elements in a battle is not to underestimate any enemy, no matter how harmless or weak it looks. And even more important: never stuff his head into a fight he has no chance to win only to satisfy his arrogance.

And sadly, in this battle, he had forgotten all of those crucial rules. First, he had underestimated Tsunade, thinking that she was only a vain old woman who was so pathetic she couldn't accept that she was old. And now, he was charging headfirst into the battle without even thinking that she was one of the Legendary Sannin, the famous shinobi with the power rivals that of Kages.

"Uwaaaaaaaaaahhh!"

Sasuke blinked. Naruto was back next to him since god knows when - well, more like being thrown back next to him, anyway. He realized that he had zoned out in fear for nearly a minute without doing anything but staring.

"Ouch…" Naruto groaned while crawling up from the ground. Sasuke deadpanned.

"What happened to you Naruto? You're not fighting like you usually do at all."

Naruto scowled. "If only I could use all my jutsu…"

* * *

><p>"<em>All right! With all the jutsu I have right now, I might even defeat baa-chan!"<em>

"_Nope."_

_Naruto had to grab his head with both hand in pain from Jiraiya's chop. "What the hell, Pervy Sage?"_

_Jiraiya pulled Naruto back so he was facing him. "In case you have to face her in battle, no exploding clone, no Tailed Beast chakra, no giant Rasengan, no Rasenshuriken, no _Tailed Beast chakra'ed_ Rasenshuriken. Understand me?"_

"_What? But that's, like, half of my jutsu arsenal!" Naruto protested. Jiraiya wagged his finger in front of his face._

"_Whatever. We are trying to bring Tsunade back to the village here, not to nuke down the whole town together with her. So deal with it."_

_Naruto groaned._

* * *

><p>"This woman is not someone we can take on alone, even with a one-hand handicap," Sasuke whispered. "We will have to work together if we want to have a chance!"<p>

"Then what can we do now?" Naruto whispered back. "She is definitely too powerful for me to fight without any jutsu!"

"Well, that means we need a plan…" Sasuke muttered.

* * *

><p>Sakura's nails dug into her gauntlets in frustration and shame.<p>

She had stated her desire to be able to stand proud together with her two teammates, to no longer be the weak link of Team 7, to no longer be useless anymore. And yes, to do that, she had trained very hard, harder than she had ever trained before.

But it was not enough. It was never enough.

She had talked big. She had said great things. But talking big didn't help her when Tsunade threw her fist at her.

And now, she could only sit outside, watching helplessly out of fear when Sasuke and Naruto were battling the Sannin.

To become their equal? How can she be their equal if everything she could do was trembling in fear?

No…! She won't let that happen again…!

She is weak, indeed, but there is no way she can accept being useless again…!

* * *

><p>"Go, Naruto!"<p>

"On it! Multi Shadow Clone Jutsu!"

Tsunade raised an eyebrow seeing twenty Naruto appearing around her. _Shadow clone? Of this scale… Just like Kushina…_

"Chaaaaaarge!"

Upon the command, the army of Naruto immediately launched themselves at Tsunade like a mini storm of torpedoes. But…

"Want to overwhelm me with quantity? Sorry brat, but that won't work!"

What happened next could only be described in slow motion.

The first two clones charged in, but were stopped with a punch, sending them tumbling against each other and slamming into three other clones, dispelling them in the process.

Five other clones rushed in from behind, but Tsunade only had to spin around, and before they could even realize it, two fingers had pierced their bellies, not unlike that of the Hyuuga clan's Eight Trigram techniques, but instead of sending chakra into the enemies' bodies, they struck them with such force that their stomachs felt like being ripped into shreds upon contact. Naturally, they were dispelled immediately, despite being very strong clones made by powerful chakra.

Five clones tried to ambush her from underground, but a stomp of her foot sent a tremendous shockwave into the ground, easily eradicating them.

And the last five clones tried to jump her from above, but Tsunade easily dispatched them with a flick on one clone's forehead, sending him flying straight into the other clones.

And all of those things happened in merely three seconds.

'_Ouch. Somehow I feel baa-chan is even more powerful than in our time,' _Naruto winced when the memories of the clones rushed back into his head.

'_**No shit,' **_agreed Kurama. _**'Remember that time when she managed to stomp you into the ground with only one finger? And now she is using a whole hand.'**_

'_Yeah, but this time I'm not alone,' _Naruto grinned mentally. "Sasuke, now!"

"Eat this!"

Tsunade's eyes narrowed when three fuuma shurikens were launched from Sasuke's position towards her. Even with a veteran shinobi, controlling three of this type of shuriken at the same time was still an impressive feat, considering the fact that he was also trying to trick her with three other shurikens hiding within the three's shadows.

But…

"Not gonna work."

Right before the shurikens could close up on Tsunade, the woman ducked, and…

Flick. Flick. Flick.

The six shurikens were all launched into the sky, and popped into smoke, revealing themselves to all be Naruto's clones. Obviously he was expecting Tsunade to dodge the weapons, not to destroy them all in one hit.

"And the real one is here, right?"

Everyone was surprised when Tsunade stuck her hand into the ground and pulled Naruto out by grabbing him at the neck.

"Naruto!"

"Now you see how hopeless you are against me, foolish brats?" Tsunade taunted, smirking at the boys. Sasuke couldn't do anything but grimacing.

_She is so arrogant… but what she said was completely true! She could see through our plan even before it even started… She is too powerful… unlike any person I've ever seen before… _

"Don't underestimate us…!" Naruto gritted his teeth while struggling in Tsunade's grasp. The woman's eyes narrowed.

"Tch… Why are you so insistent in getting me back to that accursed village?"

"Because…" Naruto choked out; his face was starting to go blue from lacking of oxygen, "we are not here… only to… take you back… We are here… because Hinata-chan… is suffering… She is… in need of our help… And someone… who abandons their comrade… is worse than trash… And we definitely are not… going to abandon our comrade… to run away… like you…!"

Suddenly the air around Naruto lost all of its heat. He realized immediately that he had said the wrong thing.

_Uh oh…_

"Fine," the snarl of the lady made even Kurama inside Naruto shudder. "If that's what you want, then you can just drown in it and die."

And Naruto felt his body being lifted up. She was going to smash him into the ground…!

_Shit…! I have no choice but to do it, or…!_

"No!"

_What…?_

Tsunade had to let go of Naruto's neck as a rocket of pink and black cut through the air, aiming at her face. She stumbled back a few steps, snarling.

"What the fuck is this…?"

But she didn't have the time to complain, because the Jet Step-enhanced kick of Sakura had already sprung up and aimed at her left side, the side she had bragged that she didn't need to use…

"Tch…"

She reached out her right hand and batted the foot aiming at her away. Sakura winced; it was just a normal push, yet it matched the power of her kick; it was her who got hurt from the kick's recoil, not Tsunade.

But that doesn't mean anything… This time, she will put all of her power into it!

"Second Shift… SHANNAROOOOOO!"

And the ground cracked from the force of Sakura's chakra burst, just like she had done during the match with Neji. The girl flew straight at Tsunade at full speed, her fist cocked back, ready to punch the woman's face in…

_She is fast, and pretty strong indeed… But this is not enough…_

Then an unexpected thing happened.

The large red gem on Sakura's right gauntlet slid back, revealing a hidden chamber inside which looked like the bullet chamber of a revolver. The component spun, and before everyone could even blink, the jewel had slammed back in place with a loud "crack".

_Oh shit… That…!_

Tsunade's eyes widened, and…

BOOOOOOOOOOOOM!

The ground below the two female exploded. In just a second, the air was filled with debris coming from the ground upon the incredible impact.

But that could only mean…

"Why YOOOOOOOOOOOOU!"

Suddenly the chirping noise of a thousand birds filled the air. Naruto could only feel a rush of wind swept across his face when Sasuke rushed at Tsunade with his Chidori at full power. Hearing the sound, Tsunade snapped her head back; her fist immediately lashed out, aiming at the Uchiha boy's head.

Only one more step, and the deadly blade of lightning would go straight through the woman's heart. Or Sasuke's head would be blown to smithereen. Or both.

"All right, that's enough."

Sasuke's hand was stopped just an inch over Tsunade's back. And Tsunade's fist was barely touching Sasuke's hitai-ate.

"That's enough, Sasuke," Jiraiya frowned down on the Uchiha with a serious gaze. "Did you forget the reason we're here for already?"

The Uchiha clicked his tongue in annoyance, and the Chidori fizzled away from his hand. The Sage turned to Tsunade.

"And you, Tsunade, do you really have to strike her down that hard? You know that she still hasn't mastered it yet, right?"

Tsunade scowled back. "You are an irresponsible teacher, Jiraiya. Do you know how dangerous the Masamune cartridge system is? And yet you let her use it, without her even knowing what it is?"

Jiraiya shrugged helplessly. "Well, what could I do? I didn't even know she possessed it until now. She must have bought it when we arrived here somehow. Besides, I'm not really her teacher, you know."

Tsunade snorted in annoyance, and turned away. "Shizune! We're leaving!"

"Stop right there!"

"What now, brat?" Tsunade turned back and glared at Naruto, who had just shouted at her. The boy climbed up on his feet, and pointed at her.

"Now you have to come back to the village with us. You lost!"

Tsunade snorted. "Oh, and why should I do that? You brats never managed to touch me once, even with 3 of you fighting and me holding back!"

Naruto grinned. "Yeah, we didn't, but we have managed to force you to use your left hand!"

_What!? Oh…_

She looked down, and remembered. She realized that, when fending off the dangerous punch of the pink haired girl, she had accidentally let herself use her left hand, just like the brat had said.

She gritted his teeth. _Goddamnit…_

"So what now?" Sasuke said, while crouching down to lift the unconscious Sakura up from the ground. "Are you ready to go back with us?"

"Like hell I will."

A beat.

"What? What do you mean you won't?" Naruto exclaimed. "You promised!"

"I said that I would only need one hand," Tsunade replied coldly, "I never said that I would go back if I lost to you."

Then she turned and walked away, ignoring the appalled expression of the three males and even her apprentice.

"So that's what a Legendary Sannin is, huh?" Sasuke snarled after her back. "Bragging about your so-called 'legendary' power, and then after you lose from underestimating your opponents, you immediately betray your words with a lame reason like that? Well, this is what I think about you!"

Then he spat on the ground in disgust.

"You really have changed, you know that, Tsunade?" Jiraiya called after Tsunade. "I bet Nawaki and Dan wouldn't want to see you like this."

She didn't answer, just walked away with her head slightly lowered than before.

"Wait."

"What?" Tsunade answered Naruto without even turning her head. "I have nothing to say to you any more. Go home, and…"

"Let's make it a bet."

Those words actually managed to stop Tsunade on her track. "A bet, you say?"

"One week. The same condition. If we manage to land a hit on you at that time, you will come back to Konoha with us and accept the proposal of the Hokage," Naruto said confidently. "If we cannot, Konoha will stay away from you from now on, and never try to approach you again."

Tsunade snorted, and waved her hand. "Sorry brat, that condition is not enough…"

"And Konoha will pay all of your debts, too."

"DEAL!"

Jiraiya sweatdropped. "Well, she hasn't changed a bit…"

* * *

><p>Sakura groggily opened her eyes.<p>

Her body was sore, and the back of her neck felt like someone had brought a hammer down on it.

"Ah, you're awake."

All of her sleepiness and pain flew away from her body, and she bolted away from the futon she was lying on, her fist lashed out with a scream…

…and Jiraiya caught it easily.

"Geez," the sage scowled unhappily. "Don't get your panties in such a twist, little girl. I might be a pervert, but I'm not a pedophile like Orochimaru, you know."

Right on cue, the two boys of the team kicked the door open.

"Pervy Sage! What the hell are you doing to Sakura?" Naruto pointed at the man accusingly, while Sasuke ran towards Sakura and pulled her away from Jiraiya protectively.

The two other men stared at the couple oddly.

"Wow, you seem to be quite fond of her already, Sasuke," Naruto noted. Sasuke sputtered, and pushed Sakura away lightly, his face blushing a bit.

"But anyway, I want to ask you something now, Sakura," Jiraiya coughed, pulling the conversation back to its intended topic. "Where did you get those gauntlets?"

"Uh, I bought it for her as a present," Naruto raised his hand. "What's wrong with it?"

Jiraiya sighed, and picked up the gauntlets lying at the edge of Sakura's futon. "No, there is nothing wrong with it; rather, everything was right… too right for me to believe. It's just… I'm kinda curious how and where you got a weapon integrated with the Masamune cartridge system. They are so rare, and I haven't thought I would see one in my life."

Then he smiled. "You are very lucky, girl. This weapon is not only rare, but also suits your fighting style very much. You don't have much chakra, so…"

"Uh… Jiraiya-sama… Would you mind explaining to us what the 'Masamune cartridge' thingy is first?" Sakura raised her hand.

Jiraiya sighed again. "Right… I forgot that you don't know anything about it… All right. First, anyone here knows about Goro Masamune?"

Sasuke raised his hand. "He is the most famous swordsmith in history, right?"

"Yes," Jiraiya nodded. "All the weapons he made were very good and beautiful beyond belief… but actually, what made him famous weren't those 'good' weapons at all. In fact, what makes his weapons famous wasn't how they were used, but rather, _who_ used them. Only a person with calm and peaceful mind could use his weapons to their full potential; that's why you could say that weapons he made are legendary holy weapons."

"But what does that have to do with this?" Naruto pointed at the pair of gauntlets on Jiraiya's hand.

"Master Masamune was also known as one of the greatest inventors in the world, Naruto," said Jiraiya. He lifted the gauntlets up to the three children's eyes. "This is also one of his inventions: the Masamune cartridge system. From what I've heard about it, it is a support system integrated into weapons which supplies the user with chakra stored up in tiny cartridges during battle, adding more power into the jutsu the user performs…"

"So that's why it is so perfect for Sakura," Sasuke remarked. "She doesn't have much chakra, so it will create a spare supply of chakra for her during battle so that she can fight for a longer time, right?"

"Exactly," Jiraiya nodded. "And her techniques will become more powerful, too."

"So that means you know how to use it, Jiraiya-sama?" Sakura asked with hope in her eyes. Jiraiya scratched his head.

"Sadly, my knowledge about this thing is only limited to that… To be honest, this is the first time I saw a real one. If you want to know the details, may be you will need to go to where it was made."

* * *

><p>The old, dusty door opened with a loud "creak".<p>

"Hello?"

Sakura poked her head into the store. The room was empty of people, the same as the day she bought the weapon. But it wasn't a mess like the other day any more; there was no trace of dust on the walls and shelves, and strangely, nearly all the exhibited goods of the store were moved somewhere else, making the room seem larger and cleaner than before.

"Not here again? Hmm, what's wrong with this guy…"

"Who said I'm not here?"

Sakura screamed and launched her fist back again, and this time, the blacksmith dodged to a side.

"Won't block my punch again, eh?" Sakura teased him, and the man stared at her with a deadpanned expression.

"No thanks. Having my arms blown off is just not worth it."

Sakura withdrew her arm, and the two separated.

The blacksmith didn't look so different from the first time they met. Still the red-and-white hair, the dark and muscular body, the stoic expression… But Sakura had to raise an eyebrow when she saw the apron on the man's chest.

"An apron? Really?"

"Yeah, thank you very much for coming right when I'm cooking my lunch," the man snarked back. "Now I will have to heat everything up again…"

It made Sakura blush a bit; she hadn't bothered to check the time before arriving here. "Sorry…" she mumbled.

"Nah, don't mind it," he waved her off, and pulled out two chairs nearby. Each person sat down on one.

"So you finally realized what these gauntlets can do, right?" asked the blacksmith. "If not, you wouldn't have to come back here so early."

Sakura nodded. "Yes… but I don't know how to use it again. I don't even know how I did it in the first place. I only remember that I was rushing at the enemy… screaming something… then she chopped me at the back of my neck… and after that, I can't remember anything else."

"I see," the blacksmith nodded. "And I assume you come here to ask me about how to use it?"

"Yes."

"Very well," the man said. He reached out his hand and took the gauntlets from Sakura's hand. He pressed the red gem on the right gauntlet, and it slid back, revealing the compartment inside. With a "click", the part detached itself and rolled out on the blacksmith's hand.

"Here you go," he lifted something small and coppery up to Sakura's eyes. It looked like a bullet cartridge. "This is a 'cartridge', one of the core components of the Masamune cartridge system. This should be the one you used up yesterday. These cartridges act like the 'seal' you ninja tend to use to store chakra inside. But when you pump your chakra into this…"

Sakura gasped when the tiny thing on the man's hand started glowing with a bright blue light. Inside the cartridge, a blue crystalized substance started forming, more and more until it filled the cartridge completely.

"You see that?" the blacksmith continued, slightly losing his breath. "These cartridges are tools to crystalize chakra. After you charge them fully, like this, and load it into the system… the crystalized chakra will be converted back and sent into your body, supplying your body with chakra. That's why chakra-based attacks, using this weapon as a base, will be boosted tremendously in power, as more chakra is added into the techniques."

"You can use chakra?" Sakura blinked. "But you are not a ninja."

The man snorted. "Who said that only ninja could use chakra? Yes, it's true that the first person who discovered chakra was the Sage of Six Paths, the progenitor of ninja, but there is chakra within everything alive. What matters is that you have enough skill to utilize it or not."

"So how much chakra did you put into this?" Sakura picked the cartridge on the blacksmith's hand up to see.

"This contains about a sixth of my chakra," the man answered. "However, I have to warn you, using this system is like trying to forcefully inject chakra into your network. So, don't even think of abusing it; it will just bring you more harm than good."

Sakura winced. She, of all people, knew well enough what could happen trying to pump more chakra than her body could handle into her chakra network. She would have to ask Kakashi-sensei to train her body more after this…

Ew. That idea came out so wrong when she thought about it.

"So how can I activate it?"

The blacksmith scratched his head. "Well, it has a voice control mechanism, but I don't know the activation code… Do you remember what you said when it activated the first time?"

Sakura blinked. "I don't know… I think the only word I said was my battle cry…"

Then she gasped, and blushed heavily. "Oh, please… don't tell me…"

"What?" the Masamune blacksmith stared at her, dumbfounded.

* * *

><p>"Jiraiya-sama, can I ask you something?"<p>

Jiraiya lifted his eyes up from the notebook he was writing furiously on, and looked at Sasuke.

"Just ask. But if it's about me training you again…"

"No, not that," Sasuke hastily shook his head. "I just want to ask you about that Tsunade woman. Did something happen to her in the past?"

"Oh? Why do you think so, Sasuke?" Jiraiya's eyes bore into the Uchiha's with a sharp gaze. Sasuke shifted uncomfortably.

"Well… because… I don't know why, but when I looked at her, I could feel something weird… something… similar to me. Even when she acted like that, I could still feel the sadness and despair in her voice. And the fact that when you spoke the name 'Nawaki' and 'Dan', she reacted…"

"The Sharingan is definitely a very deadly weapon, not only in combat, but also in reading people, eh?" Jiraiya noted, and Sasuke smirked in answer.

"You are right," the Sage sighed. "Both her fiancé, Dan, and her little brother, Nawaki, were killed during the war. After that… well, I'm afraid she was not herself anymore. She started drugging herself with sake, and… well, somehow she developed hemophobia from the trauma. Kinda sad and ironic, a legendary medic who is afraid of blood…"

"…what."

Jiraiya sighed again. "I know. That is indeed strange…"

"She is a Legendary Sannin, and yet she acts like a kid," Sasuke snorted bluntly. "She acts just like me before I knew the truth about the massacre. She is supposed to be a wise veteran shinobi, for Kami's sake! She had to face wars before; she should have understood that losing people close to us in a war is inevitable!"

Jiraiya shook his head. "It's not that simple, Sasuke. Actually, after Nawaki died, for a while, Tsunade had dedicated herself even further into medical jutsu, hoping that she would never have to see another close person of her die on the battlefield. She had even urged Sarutobi-sensei to incorporate medical ninja into each shinobi team. But after that, when she finally thought she found a glimpse of hope in her life, which was Dan, that tiny hope was immediately crushed, in the very same way which killed his dearest brother, no less. Now I want to ask you Sasuke: you have witnessed your family being murdered that night. And I know you had suffered the biggest trauma ever. What would happen if you saw Itachi, your last family, being killed right in front of you in the future?"

"Oh…"

Sasuke was rendered speechless. What Jiraiya said had struck through his heart: to tell the truth, he was just like Tsunade. Even after the massacre, when his heart was filled with hatred for the one who had destroyed his family, there was still a glimpse of hope inside him, that everything was just a dream, everything was just a lie, that his brother was actually innocent…

Had the Hokage and Jiraiya not told him the truth, and had he succumbed to the nightmare inside Itachi's Tsukuyomi again, who could have known what might happen…? Maybe he could have even been worse than Tsunade; he might even defect to Orochimaru to seek power, he might even try to destroy the world in blind anger and hatred…!

However…

"I don't know, Jiraiya-sama," Sasuke said, still bluntly. "Yeah, indeed, that is true, but even with that, clinging to the past to make yourself feel comfortable is the way of a coward. If she really loved them, she would try her best to honor them, to make sure that their names weren't erased from history, not getting wasted in sake like this. To me, even Orochimaru is still better than the like of her."

Then he walked away, leaving Jiraiya alone with his thought.

* * *

><p>"Ugh! It's completely impossible!"<p>

Sakura stopped her routine of push-ups and raised an eyebrow at Naruto. "What's wrong Naruto? I thought the word 'impossible' didn't exist in your dictionary?" she teased.

Naruto grimaced. "Yeah… but have you ever tried combining two elements together? No matter how hard I tried, it just won't work!"

"That's what you get for trying to do the impossible," Sasuke, who was practicing with his katana, snorted. "Don't you remember that the skill to combine elements is considered kekkei genkai?"

"Nah, you're wrong," Naruto shook his head. "The Kyuubi told me that combining elements together was easy and everyone could do that if trained enough. Hmph! Easy my ass! I could only do the first step; the others, I cannot even understand!"

Sasuke blinked. "Huh. How?"

"The first step is to perform two or three elemental transformations at the same time in your body," Naruto explained. "I can do that step; it's incredibly hard, but I managed it… well… two, I mean, one in each of my hands… But the next one is just ridiculous. How in the world can I 'fold' the two types of chakra into the needed element? And if I cannot do that, how can I manage more than two elements, or use shape transformation with it to use jutsu? Ugh!"

"You can use two elements at once?" Sasuke blinked again. "How did you manage that?"

Naruto winced. "Well… she trained me to do two different things with two hands at once… For example, I had to draw a square with my left hand, and a circle with my right hand. I had to use hundreds of clones to train like that for a month to even have an idea how to do it. And the memory backlash… ugh. I got a headache for a week. At least I didn't go into a coma…"

"Hundreds… hundreds…" Sakura counted in her head, then gasped. "Holy shit! That equals to decades of training! How in the world could you survive _that _being stuffed into your head?"

"But I think that alone was kinda enough," Sasuke noted. "Just think of those Rasenshuriken things with wind and fire elements being thrown at the same time…"

He trailed off, and shuddered. _Why do I suddenly have the feeling that I have just unleashed a horrible monster into this world?_

But it seemed Naruto got a different idea, because his eyes suddenly widened.

"At the same time… at the same time… Rasenshuriken… I got it! Sasuke, you really are a genius!"

"Uh… thanks?" Sasuke blinked, dumbfounded.

* * *

><p>Tsunade scowled from her hiding place. She knew that, no matter what powerful jutsu they had, if she went at them seriously at full power, they would not stand a chance against her.<p>

But why… why did she have a feeling that she didn't _want_ to go all out at them?

"Isn't it obvious? You have taken an interest in them."

Tsunade turned her head and glared at Jiraiya in annoyance. "You again? Why can't you stop stalking me for a while?"

Jiraiya jumped down from the branch he was standing on. "What? I am just checking on my team, you know. After all, I'm the captain of this team for the mission, right?"

Tsunade huffed and turned away.

"Come on now," the Sage grinned. "I can see that just by looking into your eyes. I have never seen any team with so much potential in my life. Maybe it's time for you to choose one more apprentice, eh?"

Tsunade didn't turn back, but anyone standing there at that time could feel her face twist into a big scowl.

"You are a bastard, Jiraiya," she snarled. "I will not ever take another apprentice again, I told you."

Jiraiya sighed. "Seriously Tsunade… after all those year, I think this is the time for you to let go of the past. No matter how much you mourn them, they won't be back. They had sacrificed their lives for noble causes; it would be better if you let them rest in peace and don't make them sad about how you have become because of them."

Then he saw Tsunade's face appearing just an inch before his nose.

"Don't. You. Dare. Mention. Them. In. Front. Of. Me." She snarled. "Who do you think you are? How in the world can you know what they want?"

Jiraiya didn't even flinch. "Yes, I can't. But that also means you cannot, either. Just look at how you are right now. Even a living people would feel sad with what you are doing. You are just torturing yourself out of guilt. You feel guilty of that thing on your neck, right?"

Unconsciously, Tsunade's hand rose to grasp the necklace hanging around her neck. The edge of the cold gemstone cut into her palm.

The cursed gemstone of the First Hokage, her grandfather, which brought death to every people except her who dared wear it…

It had taken the lives of her little brother, and of her fiancé…

"I am not," she insisted, and turned away.

"Tsunade, what answer would you give if Orochimaru reached you and offered to bring them back with forbidden jutsu for you to help him destroy Konoha?" Jiraiya suddenly asked.

The sudden question felt like a hammer smashing on Tsunade's ears.

"What kind of question is that?" she scowled. "Of course I would…"

The words stuck in her throat. _Yeah, what would I do?_

"Tsunade, a chuunin told me that if you really loved someone, you should honor them instead of dirtying their names," Jiraiya said, and Tsunade snorted.

"Hmph. So now you have stooped to the point you listened to a mere chuunin?"

Jiraiya shook his head. "I would listen to anything I deem right, Tsunade. And I hate to say it, but this time, that mere chuunin is wiser than you. Just look at you right now; you are nothing more than a mere shell of what you used to be. You have become blind, Tsunade; your love for them is admirable, but acting like you are doing right now is not a good way to express it. There is no way to bring them back; if there was, it would just be inhumane and evil. You have to accept it and move on, Tsunade."

The legendary medic's heart throbbed painfully upon hearing those words from Jiraiya. It was true that she wanted to see Nawaki and Dan again; she wanted to touch them, to talk to them, to tell them how much she loved them, and to tell them how very, very sorry she was… But…

"If it's that easy, I wouldn't be like this…" she mumbled very quietly.

* * *

><p>"Okay, let's try this… SHANNAROOOOOOOOOO!"<p>

The tree exploded under the force of the cartridge-buffed punch from Sakura.

"Kyaaaah!"

"Huh? What the…"

The three members of Team 7 stared at the mint-haired girl on the ground, who was rubbing her behind in pain after falling from the tree Sakura just shattered with her punch.

"Ah! Fuu-chan!" Naruto was the first one who realized the newcomer.

"Owie…" Fuu moaned. "Do you have to be so rough…? It hurts…"

"Who are you?" Sasuke glared at Fuu, while drawing his sword. "Why were you stalking us? Are you a spy?"

"Calm down Sasuke!" Naruto hastily said. "Fuu-chan is a friend! She is not a suspicious person!"

"Uh huh," Sasuke raised an eyebrow, definitely not convinced.

"Hey… wait a second…" Sakura's eyes narrowed. "Could it be… Is she the girl you told me that…"

"Yes she is!" Naruto jumped into Sakura's mouth before she could finish the sentence, blushing heavily. He reached out his hand, pulling the Taki girl up. "Fuu-chan, meet Sakura and Sasuke. Sakura, Sasuke, Fuu-chan. She is from Takigakure."

Fuu bowed in answer. "Nice to meet 'cha, Sasuke-san, Sakura-san! Let's be friends!" she smiled cheerily.

Sakura sweatdropped. "Uh… is she always like this?" she whispered into Naruto's ears.

"Yes, she is," Naruto whispered back.

"So she is here to stalk Naruto, huh," Sasuke nodded sagely. "Congratulation, Naruto, you got another girl in your harem."

Naruto turned beet red. "What the… I don't have a harem, you bastard!"

"Sure you don't, Naruto, sure you don't," Sasuke answered him with a smirk we couldn't ever call anything but a troll face.

"Why you…!"

Now, it was time for Fuu to sweatdrop seeing the two boys tearing each other apart. "Uhm… are they always like this?"

Sakura facepalmed. "Yes, they are always like this."

* * *

><p>After Sasuke and Sakura left, saying that they would "leave the whole clearing for the two lovebirds", Naruto and Fuu was now sitting next to each other at the edge of the lake in the clearing. On Fuu's face, there was an interesting expression of embarrassment he had never seen on her before.<p>

"So Fuu-chan…" Finally, Naruto was the one who started the conversation in a teasing tone. "What brings you to our humble training camp today?"

Fuu blushed. "Well… I just want to apologize for the fit I threw at you the other day. I shouldn't have done that… You must be very angry with me…"

Naruto waved her off with an ear-splitting grin. "Nah, don't worry. To be honest, I'm the one who has to apologize for surprising you like that. I should have known that you never had any friends before…"

"How did you know I didn't have any friends?" Fuu narrowed her eyes in suspicion.

'_**Naruto, you idiot!' **_Shukaku screeched. _**'You have ruined everything!'**_

'_Don't worry, I got this!' _

"Because girls never go skinny dipping alone, duh."

Everyone facepalmed.

'…_**seriously?'**_

'_What? Blame Pervy Sage! He taught me that before!'_

"You really are Naruto-ero-kun, right Naruto-ero-kun?" Fuu giggled, and Naruto blushed bright red.

"Not again!"

'_**It's your own fault,' **_Matatabi in his head said dryly.

Naruto's face became even redder, while Fuu laughed her ass off.

Finally, after she managed to calm herself down, Fuu shook her head. "No Naruto-kun… Actually… People don't want to get close to me because of another reason. I…"

And the word stopped dead in her throat. Her brain started going overdrive. The urge of bolting up and running away started to run haywire inside her body again.

Then she felt Naruto's hands clasping on her shoulders.

"You won't get away this time, Fuu-chan," he said in a low, dangerous voice. "You are not going anywhere until you tell me what is wrong with you."

This was the first time in many years she really wanted to cry. What should she do…?

"Iamthecontainerofatailedbeastpleasedon'thateme!"

Oh Kami. She had said it. She had blurted it out. She snapped her eyes shut, waiting for him to scream in disgust and fear and push her away…

"Huh? Is that all? I thought it was something big…"

Fuu's eyes snapped open. "What? But… I got a…" – she winced while saying this word. She really didn't want to call her friend this, but… – "…a monster inside me! How can you say it like… like it was nothing like that?"

Naruto shrugged. "Maybe because I also have one, you know."

Fuu gasped. "You also have one? But…"

Naruto pulled his shirt up, revealing the seal on his stomach. "See? I'm not lying to you, believe it!"

Fuu stared at the seal as if she was hypnotized. She couldn't believe that she would one day meet someone like her…

"So… who do you have…?"

Naruto answered cheerily. "I hold Kurama, number 9!"

'_**Ah, he has Kura-neechan.' **_Chomei in Fuu's head noted, but Fuu didn't hear her quite well. She was still busy trying to digest the little piece of information she had just heard. The boy in front of her, holding the most powerful of the Tailed Beasts inside him…

"…you holding? Fuu-chan! Heeeeey, Fuu-chan! Now you're the one who is zoning out!"

"…huh?"

Fuu blinked, and saw Naruto's face right in front of her, pouting not unlike herself when Naruto zoned out while talking with her. She blushed.

"Ah, no, Naruto-kun, I didn't… Uh… what are we talking about again?" she asked sheepishly.

Naruto pointed at her stomach. Her face went even redder. "O…oh… I didn't know you wanted _that_, Naruto-kun…"

Now it was Naruto's turn to blush. "What? I'm not asking about that! I just want to ask who you're holding, that's all, believe it!"

"Ah…" Fuu nodded in realization. "Ah, well, I hold Chomei, the Lucky Seven!" she smiled. "She is really cool, I tell you! She is actually the reason I can stay this happy for a long time, you know. I must say… she really has been my only friend for a very long time."

Silence filled the air for a while. Then Naruto grinned.

"Well, that means you will have another friend now, eh? I also know another one like us; maybe someday I'll introduce you to him!"

"Really?" Fuu's pretty eyes brightened with hope. "So it means I can have more friends!"

"Yup," Naruto nodded with a smile. "And there are many other friends in Konoha, Suna and Kiri too! I will introduce you to all of them, and we can all be friends!"

Fuu's stomach bubbled up with anticipation. Is it true? Is she going to escape this lonely fate, and have friends for the first time in her life…?

And Naruto yelped in surprise when he felt Fuu's arms wrapping around her neck.

"Thankyouthankyouthankyouthankyou…" she chanted nonstop to his ears while straddling him, and Naruto couldn't do anything else but patting her on the back.

'_This feels kinda familiar… and awkward too…'_

Everyone in Naruto's head rolled their eyes.

And he could feel his face heated up from the intimate action of the girl, and "little Naruto" started rising in his pants. Damn this hormonal body of a teenager he was stuffed into again.

Yeah, puberty sucks. Having to go through puberty a second time sucks even worse.

'_**You should feel lucky you are not a girl, Naruto-kun,' **_Matatabi said. _**'If you know what happened when Yugito-chan went into puberty…'**_

'_Please, don't.'_

'_**Yeah, and Fuu-chan too,' **_Chomei also piped in. _**'I still remember the time she craved for half the storage of ice cream in Takigakure…'**_

'_Okay, stop please.'_

'_**Hmph, they are nothing comparing to Kushina when she was on her period…'**_

'_CUT IT OUT GIRLS!'_

* * *

><p>"So this is where the Seven-Tails is, huh…"<p>

* * *

><p>"Hey, I think I finally got it!"<p>

BOOOOOOOOOOM!

"Goddamnit!"

* * *

><p>"All right, baa-chan, prepare to have your ass kicked!"<p> 


	23. Chapter 23: Children of Destiny!

**Once again, sorry for the long wait! And thank you for all the support you have given me for a long time! Please enjoy the new chapter!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto; Masashi Kishimoto does.**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 23: Children of Destiny!<strong>

"Oh? After I stomped you to the ground earlier, you can still stand there and say those big words?" Tsunade taunted the three Konoha shinobi. Naruto just grinned.

"Just you wait baa-chan! We are not the same people you used to punch around a few days ago!"

Next to him, Sakura and Naruto also smiled, Sakura putting on her gauntlets, Sasuke unsheathing his swords. Jiraiya stood at the edge of the battlefield, looking at the two sides with an amused grin.

Tsunade's face twisted into a menacing grin. "Good! Then let's see how well you fare against me this time! Bring it on!"

The three children looked at each other and nodded.

Then, with a loud "whoosh" and a puff of smoke, Sakura disappeared from her place, and suddenly, she was in front of Tsunade, her fist cocked back.

* * *

><p>'<em>Sakura, your Jet Step is good when fighting at close range, but when you need to approach the enemies quickly, I don't think it is very good. The Body Flicker technique is better in this case, in my opinion.'<em>

* * *

><p>'<em>Yes, it definitely is! Thank you, Sasuke-kun!'<em>

"SHANNAROOOOOO!"

Sakura yelled out her signature battle cry, and launched her fist forward. Upon the command, a cartridge was immediately loaded into the gauntlet, and the punch exploded with power and speed from the boost of the tiny device.

_So she has mastered it, huh…_

Tsunade leaned aside to dodge the punch of the girl. The fist soared across her face, and she could feel the rush of wind sweeping pass her nose. She immediately turned on her feet, and delivered a chop at Sakura's neck.

But she had underestimated the growth of the Haruno girl. Her skill in Jet Step, after a week of training nonstop in every possible situation they could think of, had advanced to the point it became like her reflex. Seeing the deadly hand aiming at her neck, Sakura immediately pushed chakra out of her feet and detached herself from Tsunade, and the hand only scratched her neck a little bit. And immediately when her feet touched the ground, she sprung up and sent a spinning kick on Tsunade's exposing left side.

But Tsunade didn't even bother to block. She reached out her right hand, and pushed at Sakura's chest.

The push didn't seem to be anything special, but Sakura was thrown away violently like a ragdoll. The girl flew across the air, but immediately backflipped and landed on the ground gracefully like a dove.

Strangely, on her face, a smile bloomed.

_What…?_

Then Tsunade realized. Behind her, Sasuke had appeared since god knows when, and was now swinging his katana on her waist. But it was still too easy; she could avoid it with only a step…

Too easy.

_Oh crap!_

And it seemed her instinct was not wrong at all, because right then, lightning chakra burst out from the blade, lengthening it. She wouldn't be able to sidestep it. There is only one way…

She jumped up, and the lightning blade just soared harmlessly below her feet.

"Naruto, now!"

_What now…?_

Then she saw it. The blonde boy, son of Minato, Naruto, was holding a blue sphere of chakra on his hand. _The Rasengan… But it is a melee attack; he won't be able to reach me…_

Then he threw it.

Tsunade's eyes widened when she saw the chakra sphere advancing towards her. _Oh now that's just fucking cheating… _

She immediately coated her hand with as much chakra as she could, and backhanded the deadly attack. The Rasengan was bashed aside; it flew to a cliff nearby and took out a chunk of it.

What, do you think they would bring a fight like this to the middle of a town?

"Aw, that's so unfair!" Naruto complained. "The Rasengan is not supposed to be stopped like that! This is not Dragon Ball!"

"I'm impressed," Tsunade said. "Your teamwork has become better than before. But you have to do better than that to defeat me!"

Well, that's only what she said, though. Despite being able to deflect the Rasengan like that, her hand still felt a little bit numb.

"Tch…" Sasuke clicked his tongue in annoyance.

"What's the matter?" Tsunade taunted again. "Is that everything you got?"

"Heh," Naruto grinned, "that's only the beginning! Today we are not the Team 7 of one week ago! That's not even half of our tricks!"

"All right," Tsunade taunted again. "Then show me what you got!"

The two sides lowered their stances, ready to charge at each other again…

Then an explosion shook the ground.

Everyone froze in place, looking at each other in horror.

"What the hell, Naruto?" Sasuke looked at Naruto. "What have you done this time?"

"What?" the blonde protested. "I didn't do anything!"

Sasuke, Sakura and Jiraiya raised their eyebrows.

"Oh come on! Stop treating me as if I'm the God of Destruction, you guys!"

Somewhere across the multiverse, a purple cat-like creature sneezed.

"That explosion was from over there," Jiraiya pointed at a range of mountains about three miles from where they were standing, at the other side of the town. "It seems someone is fighting there."

"But who?" Shizune, who was standing next to Jiraiya, asked worriedly. "That explosion was not normal at all…"

Then suddenly, an incredibly huge chakra spiked up from where the explosion was from.

Naruto paled. There is only one person here with chakra like that…

Chakra suddenly exploded from Naruto's body. The other people were nearly thrown off their feet when the blonde jinchuriki disappeared in a flash of yellow light, leaving a loud "boom" and a cloud of smoke behind.

"What…?"

That was the only word Tsunade and Shizune could utter seeing what happened.

Tsunade turned to Jiraiya. "Is that…?"

"Yes Tsunade, that's the power of the Kyuubi," Jiraiya nodded. "Naruto has mastered it to a level no jinchuriki could have ever done before. He has, not only tamed the beast, but also managed to befriend her; that's why he's so powerful. Had he used that power from the beginning, you would have lost for sure, Tsunade."

"Then why…"

"…didn't he use it?" Jiraiya cut her short in a sharp tone. "Well, it is I who forbade him from using it. But even if I didn't, he still wouldn't use it. Unlike most shinobi, Naruto is not someone who uses people for his own benefit. Rather, he fights for the sake of people, to protect them with his own power. You might think that he is foolish… but no, I think he is the most admirable person in the world. There is almost no person in the world that can be ready to give up even himself for other people… and Naruto is one."

"Give up… himself?" Tsunade mumbled. Jiraiya nodded.

"That's right. And that's why he so hastily rushed to the explosion site as you have just seen. It was a friend of him who was in danger, and he couldn't just stay there and watch his friend go into danger. To him, other people are always more important than himself."

Tsunade grimaced. What kind of human has that kind of ideal? That was completely stupid! Throwing his own life for other people…

She was going to open her mouth to protest, but then hesitated. She realized saying anything now was useless.

Because isn't that what Nawaki and Dan, as well as all Hokage, even her grandfather and granduncle, believed in? The Will of Fire?

And hadn't she also believed in it, some time ago?

No, she has abandoned it long before, when her last hope in life, Dan, was killed…

Then why… why is she feeling so… so weak, so ashamed right now?

"Let's go help Naruto, then!" Sakura yelled, and Sasuke and Jiraiya nodded.

The Sage turned back to Tsunade the last time. "Tsunade, it's alright if you won't come. But remember this: we Konoha shinobi won't ever abandon a friend in need, no matter who they are. Yeah, even you, Tsunade."

And the three shinobi of Konoha leapt away, leaving Shizune and Tsunade alone in the clearing.

"Tsunade-sama…" Shizune reached out worriedly, tut Tsunade was too busy thinking to hear her.

_Damn it… What should I… What should I do now…?_

* * *

><p>The streets of Takayama Town felt a gust of wind rushing across them when a golden figure blurred through them to the other side of the town.<p>

_No no no… Why is this happening…? Fuu-chan…!_

Naruto cursed under his breath while running with all his speed to the site of explosion. That huge spike of chakra could be of no one else but Fuu. It was tailed beast-level chakra. But what kind of enemy did she have to fight that was able to force her to use Chomei's power…?

What if it was… what if it was the Akatsuki…? He still hasn't warned Fuu about them yet…

Naruto cursed himself, and pushed even more chakra into his feet.

Then the powerful chakra suddenly, abruptedly vanished.

Naruto's heart dropped like a rock. That could only mean…

_No…!_

His legs moved even faster, and five seconds later, he burst through the tree range, and arrived at the scene of the battle.

The grassy clearing Fuu liked to hang out in was completely wrecked. The waterfall and the pond were destroyed, and craters had formed on the ground. And in the middle of the largest one…

In the crater, the familiar form of Kakuzu, the one who was supposed to be killed, wearing the Akatsuki symbolic cloak, towered in front of Fuu's body, which was impaled everywhere with the black tendrils coming from his arms.

Seeing Naruto arrive, the Akatsuki member sneered.

"So the Nine-Tails is here too… Very good… I was looking forward to another chance to kill his sensei… and now they come to me on their own will like this, eh?"

But Naruto didn't hear anything the man had just said. The rage from seeing his friend lying near death on the ground had exploded from inside his brain, muffling his ears from every other sound. He could hear the Tailed Beasts inside him yelling something, but he didn't care. Right now, his only concern was only the girl lying on the ground, and the bastard who had done this to her…!

It's just like that time…

"_Naruto-kun… Because I… love you…"_

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!"

Red chakra exploded from Naruto's body like a bomb. With an air-rending scream, Naruto shot towards the now-Akatsuki member like a cannon ball, his chakra blazing out like a raging flame. He launched a punch at Kakuzu; the fist, enhanced with Tailed Beast chakra from Naruto, could only be described as a mini ballistic missile. With that speed and that power, even without any explosion, a normal person would have been squashed by the sheer force the punch delivered.

But unfortunately, Kakuzu was not someone who could be considered "normal".

He spun on his heels, and instead of dodging, or the normal cliché fist catching, he did something no one could expect. He met Naruto's punch with his own.

_What…?_

A shockwave erupted from the point of collision between the two fists. The force was so great the air around the two shinobi seemed to ripple upon impact with a loud "boom". Naruto jumped back a few steps; his right arm, cloaked in the chakra shroud, still felt numb to the shoulder.

_What the hell…? How could he…?_

But he didn't have the time to hesitate anymore, because right at that time, the masks on Kakuzu's back burst out of his body. Two of them turned and aimed at Naruto, their mouths gaping wide.

Fire.

Lightning.

"Double Style: Lightning Blaze Cannon."

The combination of fire and lightning rushed out towards Naruto in an incredible speed and force. Unable to avoid, Naruto could only form an arm of chakra to shield himself before the deadly blast reached him and created a violent tornado of fire, drowning him inside it.

Naruto burst out of the firestorm, coughing violently. Even with the chakra cloak protecting him, a few red patches had still appeared on his skin. The power of that jutsu was so incredible… unlike any fire jutsu he had ever seen. It might even match the destructive power of the jutsu Madara used before…

"I have to thank you, Nine-Tails," the voice of Kakuzu reached his ears. "Thanks to you and your blasted sensei, I had to restock my storage of hearts… And thanks to the Akatsuki, I was able to acquire the most powerful hearts possible… Not Kage-level ones, but still good replacements until I can get those of Kages to replace… A shame I cannot take the hearts of those jinchuriki; they are very good, with all those chakra and elements…"

"DON'T YOU DARE SAY THINGS LIKE THAT IN FRONT OF ME!" Naruto bellowed in utter rage; chakra exploded from his body even more, and a blood red Rasengan started forming in his palm…

Then he felt something coming from the left. His instinct screamed at him to dodge, and luckily for him, he had done that before a big three-bladed scythe soared over his head.

"Tch, missed."

_Shit… that's his partner…_

With a flick of his hand, the scythe returned to his hand, and Hidan grinned nastily.

"You have played enough with the Seven-Tails, Kakuzu. Now it's time for me to have a sacrifice for Jashin-sama."

"You cannot kill him, Hidan," Kakuzu reminded him. "He is the jinchuriki; we cannot kill him until he is extracted. You don't want to anger Leader from that. And Itachi won't be happy if you do that."

Hidan laughed. "Ha! Screw Itachi; who cares what he thinks? Even if I cannot kill him, I'm always allowed to play with him a bit, eh?"

Then with a surprisingly quick movement, he swung the heavy scythe at Naruto. The blonde was caught off guard; he didn't think something that big and heavy could be swung that fast. He pushed chakra out of his feet and rolled away, and the three blades of the scythe stabbed into the ground.

"What's wrong Nine-Tails?" Hidan laughed gleefully with a mad expression. "So you're just a fucking pussy after all? Cannot do anything but run away?"

_That scythe is dangerous… I must destroy it!_

Naruto immediately spun chakra in his palm. In three seconds, a big Rasengan formed on his hand, and with a kick to the ground, he launched himself at Hidan, who raised his scythe to block. The spiraling sphere slammed at the blades mercilessly; for a second, it seemed Naruto had got an edge, but…

"Haaaaaa!"

Naruto was thrown away when Hidan grabbed the handle of the scythe and swung hard, and the Rasengan was dissipated violently into a burst of chakra. The blonde crashed on the ground painfully, his mind spinning; how could a mere scythe withstand the power of a Rasengan of that scale?

"You think destroying a weapon made of adamantine is that easy? Think again, little fucker!"

Had Naruto been researching more, he would have known that adamantine is the mythical material which is said to be the hardest material in the surface of the planet, harder than even diamond, and blah blah blah. But there was no time to worry about that, because the scythe made of that material was now aiming for his head, despite the warning of Kakuzu not to kill him. The only thing Naruto could do was swerving out of the way in reflex.

_Goddamnit… What is happening to me…?_

But he didn't care. If he couldn't destroy them with power, he would destroy them with a lot more power...!

He screamed out in rage, pulling out even more chakra from inside him…

Then abruptly, all the powerful chakra he was building up vanished.

_What the…!?_

And the next thing Naruto knew was he was pulled into his mindscape.

* * *

><p>Naruto opened his eyes to see the Tailed Beasts sitting around him, staring down at him from above.<p>

"What are you guys doing? Why did you retract the chakra like that? I need it to fight them!" Naruto snapped angrily.

'**Naruto, calm down! You are letting anger cloud your mind! You cannot fight in this state!'**

Naruto blinked. _What…?_

'**Your rage for Fuu has made you blind, Naruto!' **Isobu's voice boomed across his mindscape. **'You have just pulled on our chakra without any control of yourself; had we not held the chakra back, you would have lost control, and things are just gonna be worse! You didn't even remember that we were here!'**

'**Naruto, I understand you are angry, but you are facing two Akatsuki members!' **Goku also added. **'They are not someone you can face with a hot head. Remember what I taught you about fighting? You cannot let anything cloud your judgement; especially in a battle like this! If you do, you won't be able to rescue Fuu from them! Calm down, and focus on the fight first!'**

Naruto gritted his teeth. "But… How can you expect me not to feel rage about this? They have come here to take Fuu-chan, right after she managed to find a friend in her life! And just listen to what they said about her! They treated her just like a… no, not even a tool, not even a monster, just an object they can go and pick up like some kind of junk whenever they want! How can I not angry about that?"

The beasts had allowed Naruto to explode everything he wanted to say. Then when he finished, Kokuoh said.

'**Naruto, your anger was righteous and honorable, and we admire that noble intention of yours. But how many times do we have to remind you Naruto, that mindless rage is not going to help anyone with anything? The burning soul motivating one to strive for power is important, but the clear mind allowing them to focus on what is the best is something only the strongest people could have."**

Naruto bit his lip. "But…"

Then suddenly he felt Saikyo wrapping around him in an embrace.

'**Onii-chan, calm down,' **she said quietly.

And Naruto found that he couldn't protest anymore. Or more exactly, he didn't want to protest. Being in the embrace of Saikyo's… well, tails, or tentacles, whatever… somehow felt great to him. It was warm, and soothing, and somehow, his mind felt at ease and calm.

After all, that was Saikyo's power; calming people down was her specialty. And Naruto wasn't an exception.

"Thank you, everyone…"

He opened his eyes, and saw himself back in the real world again, with Hidan in front of him, ready to strike. But now, with his mind calmed down, avoiding him was just like a piece of cake.

Naruto backflipped a few times, landed some distance away from his assailants. He took a few deep breaths, and was relieved to feel his mind clearing.

_They're right… I have lost myself for a while there, _Naruto thought. _But now things will change. I will save Fuu-chan, no matter what!_

And the chakra coming from Naruto had also changed. It was no longer the mad dangerous flare raging around. It had returned to the form everyone knew: the sleeveless golden cloak with shoulder pads and nine splitting tails, and except for that, there was no other sign of the Tailed Beasts' incredible chakra; it was so calm, so gentle… but Naruto could still feel it running strong and warm inside his body…

The now calm Naruto raised his hand, and pointed at the two Akatsuki members. "Prepare to have your ass kicked, bastards."

Hidan burst out laughing. "Oh, the little fucker wants to die! Then I'll let you have it!"

He leapt at Naruto, his scythe raised high, ready to plunge into Naruto's body…

Then he felt himself being kicked in the chest. He flew back like a ragdoll, his body skidded on the ground painfully.

"What are you motherfucker doing…" he snarled, "…Kakuzu?"

Kakuzu, the one who had just kicked him, snorted. "Look where you are charging head on to first, idiot."

Hidan looked. And he snarled again.

"Motherfucking reinforcement…"

From the place where Hidan had been charging to, now a smoking, gaping crater on the ground, Jiraiya stood up, grinning at Naruto.

"Well Naruto, next time don't run away alone like that, will you?"

* * *

><p><em>Pervy Sage… Sasuke… Sakura…<em>

"So baa-chan didn't come, huh…"

Naruto murmured. He had expected that he could somehow change her mind with his action, by showing her what might happen when fighting together, to protect others… But it seemed he had failed. It's just… not like that time. There was no way…

He felt Sasuke's hand grasping his shoulder.

"You don't have to worry about her," the Uchiha said in disdain. "We don't need her for this fight. And we'll find another way to heal Hinata; I'm sure there will be someone else who has the ability to do that. To be honest, I don't like her much, even if she is a legendary Sannin."

Naruto winced. That actually wasn't the only reason he wanted to bring Tsunade back. In his previous… life, Tsunade had been one of his most important people. She was like a grandmother… no, a _mother _to him, closer than anyone else before. And she was the first person who really acknowledged his dream…

Yes, he knew that he was being selfish. But still…

But was this the time to worry about things like that? What's done was done; and now, they were facing two dangerous S-ranked criminals. They didn't have the time to think about anything else, even with the assistance of a legendary Sannin.

_All right. Let's deal with this problem first._

* * *

><p>"Jiraiya of the Sannin… One of the people with the highest bounty in the whole shinobi world, reaching billions…" Kakuzu grunted.<p>

Jiraiya smirked. "Well thank you, I'm flattered. Being known by someone from the age of the First Hokage is not a small thing, eh?"

"What do you mean he is from the age of the First Hokage?" Sasuke asked, startled.

Jiraiya nodded, his eyes didn't even leave the two men in front of him. "That's right. I have heard about him; he was one of the people who tried to assassinate the First Hokage during his reign. Of course, he failed, but people said that he had given even the legendary First Hokage a hard time during their battle."

"Hmph," Kakuzu snorted. "Indeed. But outside of the fight with that Kakashi brat, that was the battle I have suffered the most humiliation in my whole life."

"Goddamnit!" From the side, Hidan brandished his scythe and yelled. "Less talking, more killing, Kakuzu! I cannot kill that jinchuriki fucker, but at least I can have those three as sacrifices!"

"Don't be a fool, Hidan," Kakuzu glared at his partner. "We have completed the mission; there is no reason for us to stay here any more. After all, the Nine-Tails is not our mission."

Then suddenly, a giant shadow descended from above them. Kakuzu and Hidan had to jump aside when a giant toad appeared from nowhere and fell onto their heads.

Even with immortals, having a hundred ton toad falling on top of them is not anything comfortable at all.

"It seems we won't be able to get out of here without killing all of you first, huh," Kakuzu grunted in annoyance. Jiraiya grinned; his hands were on the ground for the Summoning Jutsu he had just performed.

"Of course. And I won't let you bring any jinchuriki out of here today."

* * *

><p>BOOOOOOOOOOM!<p>

_Yup, matching his power in range attacks is impossible, _Sasuke grimaced when scrambling out of the way, dodging another deadly lightning jutsu coming from Kakuzu.

He and Jiraiya were facing the Takigakure missing-nin. Despite knowing how powerful the rogue shinobi might be, Sasuke still couldn't help but shudder when the jutsu shot pass him at the edge of his ear and obliterated the cliff behind him.

The air around him reeked of ozone smell. His lightning jutsu cannot even compare to that in terms of power, even the Chidori.

"Earth Style: Rock Spike Barrage!"

From the other side, Jiraiya bellowed. With some quick hand signs, he slammed his foot on the ground, and a line of sharp, big spikes of rock shot up in from of him from the ground. In midair, they turned, and launched themselves towards Kakuzu like a storm of missiles launching from a turret. It was a jutsu designed for fortress bombardment, and right now it was pummeling Kakuzu from every direction.

But…

"Wind Style: Pressure Damage!"

The stone spikes were stopped dead in place before they could even touch the missing-nin by a wall of wind blowing in front of him. Then, with a loud "whoosh", the projectiles were all sent back to Jiraiya and Sasuke.

But Jiraiya was ready.

"Sasuke! Aim your strongest fire jutsu into my jutsu at him!"

_Collaboration, eh?_

"Secret Toad Art: Oil Blast!"

"Fire Style: Great Fire Annihilation!"

The collaboration jutsu melted the rain of spikes like butter thrown into a blast furnace. It rushed towards Kakuzu like a volcanic torrent, but Kakuzu easily blocked it with another wind – water collaboration jutsu. The two forces collided, and a loud hiss and steam immediately covered the air.

"Oh?" Kakuzu quirked an eyebrow. "It seems the Uchiha brat has an increase in power, eh? I haven't seen that jutsu since Madara Uchiha."

"Heh," Sasuke grinned. "Don't ever underestimate an Uchiha."

But inside, Sasuke was sweating bullets. That jutsu was one of the most powerful techniques he had in his arsenal. And that monster of a man had just stopped it, like that… even when he combined it with something from the legendary Jiraiya.

_No… it can never work… We can never match his power if we use ranged jutsu. Only someone of Naruto's caliber might have a chance to do that. But…_

* * *

><p>Meanwhile, Naruto and Sakura were struggling with Hidan.<p>

'_**Naruto-kun! This man is a practitioner of the Jashin cult!" **_Matatabi warned Naruto. _**'He uses the victim's blood to perform a curse or something on the victim's body, so that whenever he takes any damage, it will be transferred to the body of the victim! Don't ever let him hit you!'**_

'_That's easy to say, but…'_

It seemed the duo had managed to figure out the problem in Naruto's party right now. Naruto is the powerhouse of the team, but Sakura's skill, experience in battle and power are just not enough to even think of facing an S-rank missing-nin. Maybe that's the reason why they had separated them like this; they wanted to force Naruto to focus on protecting Sakura to fight effectively.

And it seemed their strategy was working, at least for now.

Since the start of their fight, the zombie Jashinist had only focused on attacking Sakura. Whenever the girl tried to make some distance between them, he would immediately close in and attack her in close range. Naruto gritted his teeth; he couldn't use his more destructive jutsu without getting Sakura caught in it. He could try to throw the Rasengan just like he had done when fighting Tsunade, but that would risk hitting Sakura instead, considering they were too close to each other…

Plus, his adamantine scythe was incredibly dangerous. Not only was it absurdly sharp and hard, the range it could cover was also very broad, and with the chain at the tip of the handle, the scythe was effectively turned from a close-ranged weapon into a mid-ranged weapon. And as Sakura and Naruto couldn't let it touch them if they didn't want it to draw blood… It was surprising that Sakura still hadn't got hit by that dangerous weapon.

Besides, that strange sensation he had felt under his feet since the beginning of the battle intrigued him so much. But he couldn't understand what it was.

But even if that's the case, if this continued, there was no choice for him but to fight him in close range. Making a Rasenshuriken still cost him at least twenty seconds. But when he finished that, Sakura might have been…

He would have to separate him from Sakura first…

Right when Sakura pushed herself backward with a Jet Step, Naruto rushed in with his chakra cloak, and he delivered a punch at Hidan's face. If this punch cannot pulverize his head, then at least it will be able to send him away from Sakura…

But Naruto had underestimated someone like Hidan too much. S-ranked shinobi aren't just for show; even the weakest of them has abilities exceeding that of a normal human. Therefore, it wasn't anything surprising when he dodged Naruto's punch easily by leaning his head aside.

Or had he…?

"Shadow Clone Jutsu!"

Three shadow clones popped into existence in front of Hidan, who was too surprised to react.

"NA! RU! TO!" the three clones chorused while kicking Hidan in the chest, sending him flying backward, towards where another clone was waiting.

"UZUMAKI…"

The waiting clone was ready. When the ragdoll named Hidan arrived, he backflipped, and delivered another kick to his exposing back. The kick enhanced by Naruto's chakra cloak had enough power to launch the Jashinist to the sky. Not wasting a second, the real Naruto leapt after the flying man in a yellow flash…

"…RASENGAN BARRAGE!"

…and thrust the Rasengan on his hand into the man's stomach. The man was shot to the ground like a cannonball; even if that couldn't kill him, it would still give him a whole world of pain…

POP

…or not.

It turned out the Hidan Naruto and Sakura just fought was just a shadow clone. The real Hidan popped out from behind Naruto, and swung his scythe with the intention of decapitating the boy. Luckily, Naruto had managed to sense his intention and ducked right before the blades could touch him.

"See that, Nine-Tails?" Hidan laughed and boasted loudly. "No matter how powerful you monsters are, you will just be my sacrifice for Jashin-samaaaaaargh!"

That last scream was because Sakura had just slugged him in the face.

Let's just say eating a fist enhanced with chakra bullets to the jaw **hurts**. Apparently, the bones in Hidan's lower jaw were all shattered, and the trees at the end of the clearing shook dangerously, sending a rain of leaves down on the missing-nin, who was lying on the ground dazely.

'_**Ouch. I doubt even the most fanatic masochist could enjoy**__**that,' **_Gyuuki said with a wince.

'_Yeah. Somehow Sakura is even more dangerous to me that in our timeline,' _Naruto agreed, and shuddered. He would never dare to annoy Sakura again… ever…

"Uguhbuhguhguhbuhguhguh," was the only thing Hidan could croak out with his broken mouth. Maybe he was complimenting Naruto and Sakura for the hit. Or maybe he was cursing the two shinobi.

Naruto sweatdropped. "I can't understand what he was saying…"

But Hidan suddenly made a quick movement with his hands. Naruto and Sakura's eyes widened; that was…

_Oh crap…!_

From the ground, pillars suddenly erected around Sakura and Naruto. And before the two Konoha shinobi could even react, they had felt thousands of volts of electricity arching through their bodies. They had been trapped inside Hidan's ninjutsu from the start…!

The two children screamed out in pain; even under the protection of his chakra cloak, Naruto could still feel the arcs of electricity rushing through, spearing into his heart. His body felt numb, and when the jutsu finally stopped, he slumped to the ground, his chakra cloak dissipated.

But his mind didn't have anything but the girl beside him. Sakura… her body was weaker than him, and she didn't even have anything protecting her. And now, she was lying on the ground, not moving anymore.

"Sa…kura…"

Numb with the shock, Naruto couldn't even move when Hidan descend down on his head, his scythe raising high, ready to take his life, despite whatever order his leader might have given him…

Then suddenly, Naruto felt his body being shoved aside violently. He glanced down, and saw Sakura's body slamming into his waist, pushing him away from the deadly slash coming from Hidan. Even when she couldn't move her body, she still forced herself to use Jet Step to help him…

The scythe soared passed their heads, and nicked Sakura's arm.

_No…!_

Naruto wanted to scream out, but it was too late. Before he could realize it, Hidan's skin had turned black, and the ritual had been ready. Forgetting all pains in his body, Naruto leapt up and charged at Hidan. He needs to stop him before…

The blades of the scythe buried themselves into Hidan's stomach.

Immediately, blood spewed out of Sakura's mouth with a loud gasp. She lay motionless on the ground, her body spasmed slightly with each of her breaths. Naruto could only stare in pain when Sakura's chakra started fluctuating like crazy, just like with Hinata when struck by Neji in the preliminary.

Hidan glared at Naruto. He couldn't say anything, but the intention his eyes was showing was too clear it didn't even need a genius to understand the meaning.

_Don't you dare move, or the bitch will get it._

Naruto gritted his teeth. What could he do now? He couldn't attack Hidan; that would just harm Sakura even more. He also couldn't leave her and run away.

As if taunting Naruto, Hidan aimed another stab at his stomach. Sakura's body jerked up slightly upon the sudden contact, then fell back to the ground as lifelessly as before. Naruto's eyes widened in horror when the girl's breath became weaker and weaker.

"No…" he choked out. "Please, stop hurting her…"

But the Jashinist didn't have any intention to stop. Now, the blades of the scythe were aiming for his heart.

"NO! STOP!"

But it was too late. The blades sunk into Hidan's chest with a loud "SQUELCH".

Just like looking at the video of an old nightmare; Sakura, being impaled at the heart, and he could only stay there and watch without being able to do anything. Naruto slumped to the ground; it's happening again, his friend was once again dying in front of him, and he couldn't do anything... again…

"Give up so soon? After all big things you have talked about? I shouldn't have come here after all."

"Huh?"

Naruto snapped his head back. Standing there was no one else but Tsunade, whose finger was now drilled into the ground, making a fissure on the surface which ran through the ritual circle on the ground. Without the circle intact, the ritual had failed, and Sakura's life had been saved in just that critical moment.

"Baa-chan…!"

Faster than Naruto could even see, Tsunade literally disappeared from where she had been standing. Before Hidan could even react, she had been squeezing his neck with one hand and lifting him up from the ground. He tried to slash her, but he couldn't even move a single muscle.

"A Jashinist, huh?" the legendary medic snarled at the missing-nin. "You are so proud of your immortality, am I right? Let's see how your immortality will help you without your head."

Hidan could only widen his eyes in shock and fear before the fist of Tsunade blew his head to smithereen. The headless body twitched one, two, and three times before Tsunade released it to the ground, blood pouring out of the gaping hole on its neck.

The female Sannin turned her back, not even bothering looking at the corpse on the ground anymore and jumped to where Sakura was lying. She turned the girl on her back, her hand started glowing green when scanning the body for damage.

'_I don't get it. She still has her fear of blood right? So how did she…?'_

'_**Hey Naruto, look at her forearm.'**_

Naruto followed the direction he had just been told. Tsunade's arm, from her elbow to the hand, was full of blood, and there was a very new long scar lying on her bicep. But a mere punch cannot cause so much blood and damage… unless…

'_She cut her own arm off to force herself out of her phobia!?'_

'_**Yes. I think she already realized the mistakes of her life… You have succeeded, Naruto. Congratulations.'**_

"What are you waiting for?"The voice of Tsunade woke Naruto up from his stupor. "I and Shizune will take care of this girl! Go and help Jiraiya and the other brat!"

"Ah… uh… yeah, okay! And you better come back to Konoha with us, baa-chan, believe it!"

"Hmph," Tsunade chuckled. "Just keep yourself from dying first, brat."

* * *

><p>"Hrgh!"<p>

Sasuke grunted in pain when he was sent to the ground after a vicious blow from Kakuzu. He bounced like a ragdoll one, two, three times on the ground and landed with a "thud".

He still remembered that battle of the monster in front of him with Kakashi. Both Kakashi and Zabuza together could barely defeat him, and that's with a power Sasuke hadn't seen his teacher using before. But now, the surprise element was gone, and he had no way to counter that monstrous power the missing-nin possessed. Sure, it was thanks to his body armor jutsu, but still…

The fact that he just left Fuu's body alone, exposed, without any protection like that made Sasuke worry even more. If the one they were fighting was someone else, it could be dismissed as an amateur mistake, but with someone like this monster, it could only mean that he didn't have anything to worry about losing the body. If someone managed to take it, he would just retrieve it later after killing everyone here.

With a very fast movement, Kakuzu appeared in front of Sasuke, his armored fist raised high.

_What…? That was impossible! How could someone with that much mass on his body move so fast? It defies physics!_

Ninjas are the ones who always defy physics, Sasuke.

But Kakuzu couldn't strike Sasuke down, because Jiraiya had appeared and thrust a Rasengan at Kakuzu's side. The jutsu, bigger than the normal ones Naruto usually used, managed to push the Taki missing-nin away, but couldn't even make a dent on his skin.

"Your power if very impressive for a brat of this age," Kakuzu remarked.

"Heh, thanks for the compliment,"Jiraiya grinned. "The youngsters now are not as bad as you think, eh?"

"Indeed," Kakuzu nodded, his eyes didn't leave Jiraiya and Sasuke. "I have learned that the hard way when underestimating that Kakashi brat. But this time… it will be different!"

He jumped at Jiraiya in a blindingly fast speed just like before, but Jiraiya wasn't Sasuke. He had foreseen the attack before Kakuzu even started the attack and had already completed his hand signs before the missing-nin could reach him.

"Needle Jizo!"

The Toad Sage's hair lengthened immediately upon command and wrapped around him like a spike armor. The fist of Kakuzu crashed against it, sending the Sage stumbling back a few steps, but didn't harm him much.

Although, it couldn't be said that the punch didn't hurt.

But a little bit pain couldn't stop the Toad Sage of Mount Myoboku.

"Wind Style: Hair Needle Rain!"

The very long mane of Jiraiya, after fulfilling its protection duty, immediately shot up and launched a barrage of very hard needles at Kakuzu. The spikes, enhanced with wind chakra, rained down on Kakuzu's head with incredibly deadly piercing power.

But Kakuzu just snorted, and instead of doing anything to defend himself, he charged right through the needle rain.

"What the fuck…?"

CRASH!

The deadly fist of Kakuzu buried into Jiraiya's stomach.

Then the Sannin's body exploded into smoke. The smokescreen immediately engulfed Kakuzu, blocking his view completely. But of course, someone as experienced as Kakuzu, who had suffered from this trick once, wouldn't let it happen again.

"Wind Style: Erasing Wave!"

The wind mask opened its mouth, and before anyone could do anything, a big gust of wind had swept around Kakuzu, erasing all trace of smoke which was hiding Jiraiya from the missing-nin's view.

"Found you."

The tentacled mouth of Kakuzu twisted into a strange, disgusting kind of smirk. He lowered his body with the attention of leaping towards the Sannin again…

…and found out he couldn't move his body from the place he was standing.

"What…?"

He looked down, and saw that his legs were buried to the knee in the ground. In just one second, Jiraiya had managed to make a swamp under him and immediately make it solid to bind him in place…

"Sasuke now!"

From behind, in Kakuzu's blind spot, the Uchiha rushed in, his katana was glowing brightly and screeching with Chidori. The only weakness of Kakuzu's defense jutsu was lightning, which meant this hit should be fatal…!

The lightning-charged sword thrust into the missing-nin's body mercilessly…

CRACK!

…and shattered upon contact.

"What the…?"

And Sasuke was sent flying with a backhand from Kakuzu.

"Fool," grumbled Kakuzu. "Did you really think I would let something like that happen again? With this Diamond Armor jutsu, even lightning is useless against me."

_Dia…mond…!?_

Almost everyone knew that diamond is made from carbon, just like graphite. But different from graphite, diamond is one of the hardest materials the world has known, and it can withstand incredible heat and is impervious to electricity, too. If it really was like what he claimed, then Kakuzu was having a nigh invulnerable defense together with his already massive power…

How are they going to defeat something like that?

Kakuzu turned, ripping his legs from the ground on the way, and Sasuke felt a chill running down his spine.

"Eat this, bastard!"

The air was suddenly filled with loud screeching. Kakuzu turned his head towards the direction of the noise, and was immediately engulfed in the tornado coming from Naruto's Rasenshuriken colliding with his body.

"Naruto!" Sasuke blurted out. Never before had he felt so relieved seeing the blonde than right now.

"Why didn't you rescue Fuu-chan?" Naruto whispered when he landed next to Sasuke. "She was just lying over there!" he pointed at her, who was lying motionlessly a few feet away.

"It's not that easy…" Sasuke gritted his teeth.

"Then I'll go save her!" Naruto exclaimed, and jumped towards where Fuu was lying.

"Wait, Naruto…!"

Then a fist smashed at his side, launching him away.

"Ack! What the…?"

From inside the tornado, Kakuzu emerged. His Diamond Armor was cracked in many places, but there wasn't any harm to his real body inside. And the damage was immediately repaired as they were looking.

"I'm impressed," the missing-nin remarked. "That jutsu was definitely on a different level. This is the first time I've seen such a powerful wind jutsu like that."

"What the fuck?!" Naruto gaped. "He could tank a Rasenshuriken just like that? How is that possible?"

"You really think it's that easy?" Sasuke scowled, facepalming.

"But that also means I cannot go easy on you anymore," Kakuzu continued, "I will have to finish you fast!"

Two of the masks on Kakuzu's back burst out when the Taki missing-nin was weaving through hand seals, and aimed at where Naruto and Sasuke were standing.

"Crap…"

"Triple Style: Delta Stream Cannon!"

From before, it had been two; but now, it was three. The blast of three chakra elements rushed toward Sasuke and Naruto, and with this, even if they dodged, they would still be caught in the splash damage. And with this level of power, it seemed Kakuzu didn't have any intention of holding back, even with Naruto, the jinchuriki, as his enemy.

"I won't let you!"

From nowhere, Jiraiya suddenly appeared in front of the two boys and held out his hands. From his palms, ten layers of transparent chakra barrier manifested, protecting the Sannin and the two boys from the raging elemental blast coming from Kakuzu. The blast hit the barrier, making an earthshaking explosion, and sending embers and debris everywhere.

"What can we do now?" Sasuke whispered panickingly. "Even your strongest jutsu cannot do anything to him. We're dead."

"Actually…" Naruto bit his lip, "I still have another stronger jutsu. If that jutsu hits, he will be finished for sure… But the problem is, I need at least two minutes to prepare it, and I only have one shot at it. If it fails…"

"It is possible?" asked Sasuke, his eyes widened. Naruto nodded.

"Yes… but how can I find even one minute in this fight? The moment I take my eyes off him, he will pulverize me!"

"Consider it done."

Naruto blinked. "Eh?"

"You need two minutes, right?" Sasuke said confidently. "I will buy you twenty minutes if you want. Just use your strongest technique and blow that bastard to bits for us."

"Oy, if you brats are planning anything, you should do it now, because this barrier won't hold out for much longer!" Jiraiya screamed out, and the two boys turned towards him. The ten rings from before were reduced to only three rings now, and even those three rings would not be able to take much more damage.

"Alright," Naruto nodded. "I'm counting on you. I'll try to be quick. Be careful."

Sasuke grinned. "Then…"

He reached up the locks on his jacket armor, his arm and leg protectors. With loud "click"s, the locks opened, and they fell down from his body.

CRASH! CRASH! CRASH! CRASH! CRASH!

The noise coming from the fall of the equipments to the ground was so loud even Jiraiya, who was holding the barrier protecting them, nearly jumped and dropped it.

"Holy shit…! Is that… lead?"

"Yes," the Uchiha smirked. "And now…"

He disappeared from view with a remarkable speed, much faster than what he had shown before, not unlike Lee when he opened the first two Gates, sending debris flying everywhere, and reappeared right next to Kakuzu, who was too shocked from the burst of speed to even react.

"Eat thiiiiiiiiiiiis!"

Sasuke's fist crashed into Kakuzu's cheek. It wasn't strong enough to send him away, but still managed to break his concentration on the jutsu he was using. The big jutsu fluctuated and eventually faded away, just as the barrier Jiraiya was holding collapsed.

"You brat…" Kakuzu gritted his teeth and spun, launching another deadly punch at Sasuke, but…

_I can see it!_

Chakra burst out from Sasuke's feet, pushing him away from the punch, and even before he could land on the ground, the chakra had already pushed him back to deliver another kick to Kakuzu's head.

"That is Sakura's Jet Step!" Naruto gasped. "She taught Sasuke that!?"

'_**Impressive thinking,' **_Kokuoh commented within Naruto's head. _**'That technique, using together with the speed he has trained himself to be and his Sharingan, will make him near untouchable. And at that distance, Kakuzu won't be able to use his more powerful ninjutsu without being caught up in them too. Even if he cannot deal damage to Kakuzu, he can still keep him busy just by staying close to him.' **_

"Naruto! What are you waiting for? Do what you have to do! I'll go assist him!" Jiraiya yelled, and Naruto snapped out of his trance.

_Alright, then it's my time to shine…!_

* * *

><p>'<em><strong>Do you really want to do this, Naruto?' <strong>_Kurama asked worriedly. _**'I can provide you with the chakra for that, you know…'**_

'_No, I have to do this. Sooner or later, I will have to manage it alone. If I just rely on you every time, I will never be able to do anything in the future, so why not now?'_

'_**Stop being a fool!' **_Shukaku roared. _**'Training can be left until later; this is a matter of life and death now! There is no time for stupid chivalry!'**_

'_**Yes, I think so too,' **_Isobu also said worriedly. _**'You didn't have absolute mastery of that chakra, I think you should just leave it to…'**_

'_No, just believe in me,' _Naruto cut them short with a confident voice. _'I have prepared it to fight those Akatsuki; I will be able to perfect it by myself, no matter what! And I'll show you all!'_

'_**Ugh, you are the most stubborn person I've ever met in this world!' **_Shukaku groaned and facepalmed.

_Like you're the one to talk, _Naruto deadpanned.

'_**I heard that!'**_

_Okay, now… _"Shadow Clone Jutsu!"

Four clones with chakra cloaks appeared next to Naruto in a puff of smoke. The real Naruto held out his hand and concentrated. In two seconds, a perfect Rasengan appeared on his palm.

"Alright, go!"

Upon Naruto's command, the two clones started molding the elemental chakra from inside their bodies. And then, their hands started moving around the perfect sphere just like before, when they first made the Wind Style: Rasenshuriken.

But now Naruto had understood. It was not just that simple. "Folding" the two types of chakra into a new element isn't just mixing them together. It needs the right amount of chakra, the perfect ratio of each type of chakra, and the most important, the condition for the new element to exist and the definition of what the new element is. Recreating all those condition is nigh impossible for a normal person without training for hundred of years; that's why those who can use advanced nature chakra are so rare and all considered people with kekkei genkai in the whole Shinobi World. It takes three simultaneous lines of thought to do that; two to create the two elements at once, and one for all those other steps, and most people can only think about two things at the same time at best.

But Naruto is the only ninja who can bypass all those conditions. If he cannot do it all by himself, his clones will do it together with him. If he cannot do it inside his body, he will do it outside.

_Creating two elements – Fire and Wind, complete._

_Hypothesizing the concept of Scorch Style chakra, complete._

_Recreating the condition for combination of the chakra, complete._

_Mixing the two elements in perfect ratio and condition inside the Rasengan, complete. _

_Maximizing the density of the chakra inside the Rasengan, complete._

_Applying advanced Shape Transformation to the Rasengan, complete._

"All right. The ultimate jutsu… has been perfected!"

* * *

><p><em>What the hell is that jutsu? It's different from that jutsu from before…<em>

The jutsu Naruto was holding right now was definitely not the same Wind Style: Rasenshuriken from before anymore. Instead of the four sharp blades usually seen in the normal Rasenshuriken, there were ten flame-like blades covering the edge of the Rasengan just like the sun. And instead of the white color and the deafening screeching noise, it had a reddish yellow color and made sounds just like thousands of mini explosions were happening inside it.

_Cannot let it hit me… even with this armor, I will be killed…_

Meanwhile, the Uchiha was making him frustrated and annoyed. He couldn't land a big hit on him, but yet Kakuzu couldn't touch him, either. That accursed Sharingan had allowed the brat to see all of his movement, and now he was dancing around him like a stupid pirouette with that chakra jet technique of him…

"Sasuke, Pervy Sage! Get away from there, or you will be caught in it!"

The voice of the jinchuriki rose from afar, and Kakuzu knew immediately what was going to happen.

"As if I'll let you!" he roared, and stomped hard on the ground. Sasuke, who was moving too fast to react on the sudden action, was caught off guard and lost balance, and that moment of slight stunning was the very thing Kakuzu needed. His hand lashed out, grabbing Sasuke's neck in midair.

"Ack…!"

"Now let's see if you dare throw that thing at me," Kakuzu growled, squeezing the Uchiha's neck a bit harder. Jiraiya and Naruto cringed.

"Damn… it…!" Sasuke gasped out in pain, struggling hard to get out of the vicegrip which was Kakuzu's hand. The missing-nin turned his head, and slugged his stomach, hard.

"Gah…!" Saliva and blood spewed from the Uchiha's mouth. His eyes widened, bore at Kakuzu's own eyes before closing when he fell into unconsciousness.

"Sasuke!" Naruto screamed in rage and horror.

"Don't worry, he is not dead yet. Now, unless you stay there and dispel that jutsu…"

"Damn you!"

Kakuzu's eyes widened when he saw the jutsu leaving Naruto's hand and flew towards immediately let go of Sasuke's neck and jumped hard into the sky to avoid the deadly disc raging across the air towards him.

But right after his feet left the ground, he knew immediately that there was something wrong. Everything was still there, the brat lying on the ground, the Sannin and the other brat still standing over there… except for the fact that the jutsu was still on his hand, not thrown anywhere.

_Fuck…! Genjutsu…!_

Now, he understood. Before being knocked out, the Uchiha had used a genjutsu with his Sharingan to trick him into releasing him and jumping up. He had forgotten, for a very brief moment, that the Sharingan can put enemies into a deep, powerful genjutsu with only a quick eye contact. That moment of carelessness had cost him everything… And right now, being on the air, he had no way to avoid the jutsu, _now _soaring through the air towards him.

It's just like that time… just like that inescapable vortex jutsu of that Kakashi brat… he had no way to prevent it from happening…

Then the jutsu collided with his body.

The scream of Kakuzu was drowned inside the incredible explosion the collision had made. Everything faded inside the blinding light the gigantic fireball, with the energy of a mini sun, emitted. The incredible heat swept through the air; even Naruto, who was standing very far away, still felt it burning harshly on his skin. There was no way someone can be alive when caught in this jutsu… even if he had diamond as skin.

The fireball died down, and there was no trace of Kakuzu anymore; not even a tiny speck of dust. Everything of him had been atomized by the extreme heat and energy the jutsu emitted. Even the odor had been erased. If the Wind Style: Rasenshuriken can be considered thousands of blades that shreds everything, then the jutsu Naruto had just used, Scorch Style: Rasenshuriken, can only be treated as an atomic bomb which pulverizes, decimate, _erases _everything on its way.

Naruto slumped down to the ground. Tailed Beast chakra be damned, he was completely exhausted from using that jutsu alone. But anyway…

"So it's all over, huh…?"

Jiraiya, who had come and sat next to him for a while, grinned.

"Yeah, it's over… for now, at least."

* * *

><p>"…And that's basically what happened, yeah."<p>

Naruto's party, including Tsunade and Shizune, was now sitting in the small study in the residence of the leader of the Village Hidden in the Waterfall. Facing them was Shibuki, the young leader of the village.

After rescuing Fuu from the two Akatsuki members, Naruto had insisted that they escorted her back to Takigakure in case someone else attacked again. Fuu hadn't felt too comfortable about that, but before the (kinda) annoying protectiveness of the male jinchuriki, she had had to agree reluctantly.

"We would like to thank you, Jiraiya-sama and Tsunade-sama, for rescuing Fuu from those Akatsuki," the village leader got out of his seat and bowed deeply. Jiraiya hastily leapt out of his seat and pulled the man up from the ground.

"Please, don't say that, Shibuki-sama. Besides," he jerked his finger towards Naruto, "it was that brat who insisted on helping her, not us. He is also a jinchuriki; he understands her better than us."

"He is also a jinchuriki?!" Shibuki gasped. "Then maybe…"

He stopped in the middle of his word, and bit his lip. Then, he looked at Jiraiya and Tsunade. "Can we talk alone a bit, Jiraiya-sama, Tsunade-sama? Oh, and please stay here too, Fuu-chan."

Jiraiya narrowed his eyes, but still nodded, and waved Team 7 out of the room. After the Konoha shinobi had already been out of ear reach, the young leader went straight to the point without any hesitation.

"Jiraiya-sama, can you bring Fuu together with you to Konoha?"

The question startled everyone in the room.

"Shibuki-niichan…" Finally, Fuu was the one who spoke up first. Her eyes were full of tears. "You don't want me to stay here…?"

"No Fuu-chan, don't think of it like that," Shibuki shook his head. "You're just like a little sister to me, but other people in this village don't think like that. You have already known what they treat you as here. After seeing you finally have some friends like that… I really don't want to see you go back to your old life, alone without anyone loving you… except for me."

"Yeah," Shibuki nodded when seeing Jiraiya and Tsunade's expression. "Even the shinobi here hate her. If those Akatsuki attack again, I don't think we can protect her… if the shinobi force doesn't want to, like that. Fuu-chan, I really don't want to see the day you are captured and killed without being able to do anything. I was entrusted with the position of village leader after my father died, yet I'm just a coward, an incompetent who cannot even protect my village from invaders, cannot even stop my sensei from defecting…" he added miserably.

Silence filled the air after Shibuki's word. Then Jiraiya said.

"Well, Konoha is honored to fulfill your request, Shibuki-sama. Naruto would love to have a new friend like her. But we will have to see if she has any problem with it first. What do you think, Fuu?"

Fuu swallowed when the three other pairs of eyes bore into her face. This was too big a decision for her to decide…

"I… I agree," Finally, after a lot of thinking, she nodded, but still hesitated. "But that means I have to leave Shibuki-niichan, right…?"

"Hem, hem."

The two men and Fuu turned back to Tsunade, who was grinning cheekily.

"About that… I have an idea…"

* * *

><p>"EEEEEEEEEEEH?!"<p>

That was the shared reaction of the three members of Team 7 when hearing the announcement from Jiraiya. The man nodded with an ear-splitting grin.

"That's right! She will go back to Konoha with us to join our rank of shinobi, and Takigakure has agreed to become Konoha's ally and trade partner, and will open their embassy in Konoha for the first time in years!"

"That's incredible, Fuu-chan!" Naruto exclaimed. "In Konoha, there are many people; you will have a lot of friends! I'll introduce you to everyone!"

"Yeah, including your girlfriends," Sasuke snorted. Naruto snapped his head back.

"Why are you so insistent on me having a harem, teme?"

"Because you really have one, that's why," Sasuke put on his "troll face" again.

"Why you…!"

BONK! BONK!

"Be nice to each other, you two," Sakura's shadow loomed above the two boys. It was amusing to see the two powerful boys being scolded by a little girl like that.

While the children were bickering with each other, the grown-ups just stood there quietly, observing them. Finally, when Naruto declared it's time for them to go back and pulled Fuu's hand and ran away, with Sakura and Sasuke chasing after him to get him to slow down, Tsunade spoke up.

"So that boy Naruto is the child of destiny in the Toads' prophecy huh? He surely has potential, I admit. I kinda like him. He has managed to change me after all…"

"Really?" Jiraiya answered her with a smile. "I actually don't know about that, Tsunade. Naruto is a special boy, indeed, but he cannot come so far without his friends. I'd say that they all deserve the name 'Children of Destiny"… if you know what I said."

"Yeah," Tsunade smirked. "If you say it like that, I kinda understand it."

The future of Konoha, and of the world, gonna lies within the hands of those children…

"Wait a sec," Jiraiya suddenly pondered. "Why do I have a feeling that we are forgetting something…?"

They looked back, and saw Shizune and Tonton, her pig, sulking on the ground with tiny ominous rain cloud above their heads.

"No one bothers remembering us…"


	24. Chapter 24: Wake Up!

**Chapter 24: Wake Up!**

"…I'm bored."

"Ugh, this is the 279th time you have said it today already, Izumo."

"What else can I say? This job is really the worst a chuunin could ever have!"

It was another average day in Konohagakure. It's worth mentioning that all the damages coming from the invasion of Otogakure were fixed rather quickly thanks to the help of Sunagakure and Kirigakure, and now, all the activities of Konohagakure had returned to normal.

And that also meant the gate guarding job had returned to the most boring job in the universe, too.

Poor Izumo and Kotetsu. They were the only (stupid) ones who had dared to stay at the Hokage's chamber when he announced that he needed two chuunin to guard the gate. And just look at how it came back to bite them in the ass now.

"I should have known Hokage-sama was such a troll," Kotetsu said grumpily.

"Oh, _now _you realize it, huh?" Izumo snarked.

The banter of the two shinobi was suddenly interrupted by a loud yell into the earphone Izumo was wearing.

'_Izumo! Kotetsu! This is the Barrier Team! There is a group of people with incredible chakra coming toward your position! The estimated level of chakra… it is Tailed Beast level! Prepare to engage!'_

_What the fuck…?!_

"Invasion?!" Kotetsu exclaimed in shock. "Impossible! There is no notice from the border of any people with that much power…!"

"Worry about that later!" Izumo yelled, and brandished his weapon, a pair of giant kunai designed specifically for him. "No matter what might happen, we cannot let them into the village!"

"Cannot let whom into the village, Izumo?"

The two chuunin snapped their heads back upon hearing the familiar voice.

"Hokage-sama!"

"Look clearly to see who are coming first, you two," Hiruzen Sarutobi said pleasantly, and pointed at the direction the group of people was arriving from. The two chuunin followed his finger, and gasped.

"No way… That is…!"

The Hokage smiled. "Welcome back, Team 7. It seems your mission was a success."

* * *

><p>"What happened to her?" Hiruzen raised an eyebrow when he saw Tsunade sulking at a corner of his office. Jiraiya shrugged.<p>

"Well, obviously because of you. You're much younger than you're supposed to be, so…"

Everyone sweatdropped, and Tsunade sulked even more. Ones with good ears could hear her mumbling in her breath something sounded suspiciously like "no fair" and "grandpa is a jerk" and so.

"Well," the Hokage coughed, "anyway, now that everything was settled, let's get to business," He turned to Fuu. "So, miss… uh…"

"Uhm… m-my name is Fuu, s-sir," Fuu gulped. Being in front of such a great figure of power was a completely new experience for her.

Hiruzen smiled. "Don't be so tense, Fuu-san. It's not like I'm going to kill you or anything. After all, Jiraiya had already told me a few things about you. Welcome to Konohagakure. We will prepare your accommodation soon. Now, Naruto, why don't you and your team show her around Konoha? As for you, Tsunade and Shizune, the Senju clan estate is always ready for the two of you. And please get ready for your job as soon as possible, there are many patients in need of your help."

"All right," the Senju woman yawned. "The Hyuuga girl first, huh? Better get going to prepare, Shizune. It's been a long time since I last stepped foot into the house anyway."

After Team 7 together with Fuu, Shizune and Tsunade had gone out of the room, Hiruzen looked at Jiraiya.

"You know what all of this means, don't you Jiraiya?"

The Toad Sage nodded. "Of course I know. With us getting more allies and more power like this, surely the superpowers will not stay still. Kumo and Iwa might take this chance to wage war against us… It might even lead us to another World War. But… even this is better than letting the jinchuriki fall into the hand of the Akatsuki. About the other countries, we can find another way."

The Hokage closed his eyes. "I agree with you on this. We will have to call a meeting between Kages soon. Jiraiya, can I trust you with contacting the other Kages for me? We cannot risk sending these messages by hawks."

Jiraiya nodded grimly. "Of course, sensei. I will depart as soon as possible."

Hiruzen nodded. "Good. But before you go, there is something I want you to help me with…"

* * *

><p>"…And this is Ichiraku Ramen, the best ramen store in the world!"<p>

Teuchi Ichiraku smiled when he saw Naruto lifting the curtain and entered the shop.

"Well, well, well, if it isn't Naruto and his friends! Come on in, come on in!"

Naruto beamed. "Teuchi-jiji! This is Fuu-chan! She is moving to Konoha! Oh, and miso ramen for all of us, please!"

"Not everyone is a miso ramen freak like you, Naruto," Sakura deadpanned. "I will take seafood with lots of vegetables, please."

"Hn, beef with tomato please," Sasuke, as usual.

"Coming right up!" the ramen chef smiled brightly. He turned to Fuu. "And you, young lady?"

Fuu squeaked when realizing that she was being asked so suddenly. "Y-yes?!"

Teuchi smiled. "Don't be scared. Every friend of Naruto is always welcome here. In fact, you can call me Teuchi-jiji like Naruto if you want, I don't mind! After all, everyone is a friend here, right?"

The female jinchuriki was stunned for a moment. Then, she beamed brightly.

"Then I'll take what Naruto-kun takes, please, Teuchi-jiji!"

"All right!" the ramen chef winked at her. "And since this is the first time you eat at Ichiraku's, the first bowl will be on the house for you!"

Right at that time, the chef's daughter, Ayame Ichiraku, emerged from the back of the store. Seeing Naruto, she beamed.

"Ah, Naruto-kun! Long time no see! Seriously, are you getting tired of our ramen or something?"

Naruto grinned back. "No way! Ramen is always the greatest food!" Then he frowned and muttered, "Damn Kakashi-sensei and Pervy Sage… always trying to find a way to keep me from my ramen…"

Fuu giggled upon hearing that. Sasuke and Sakura just rolled their eyes.

Ayame turned her eyes toward the female jinchuriki. "Oh my. Another girl in your harem, Naruto-kun?"

Naruto smashed his head on the counter.

"Told you," said Sasuke in a smug tone.

"My little Naruto is making a harem…" Ayame muttered, then sulked, "…without me in it…"

"Ayame-neechan!" Naruto exclaimed, horrified and scandalized, with Fuu blushing bright red and every other people laughing their asses off. Even Sasuke.

Yes, when _Sasuke _of all people is forced to laugh his ass off, it definitely is something seriously funny.

"…You're never gonna let this down, are you?"

"Never!" chorused everyone around him, and inside him, too.

Naruto groaned.

"Alright, I think we have teased poor Naruto enough," Finally, Teuchi raised his voice. "The ramen is here! Enjoy yourself, children!"

The four bowls were set in front of the shinobi's faces.

It's worth noting that there is a reason why Naruto, as well as every other customer here, loves Ichiraku Ramen. Just take a look at the bowl in front of Sasuke right now, for example. The noodle strings were curling up inside the bowl like a pure cloud bathing in moonlight, and the rare-cooked, juicy piece of meat was just like a little red moon hiding inside the cloud. The finely cut pieces of tomato covered around the bowl like small stars, making the bowl of ramen a brilliant illustration of nothing else but a night sky. It could be said that each Ichiraku Ramen bowl is not a normal ramen bowl, but a masterpiece of art.

And the taste… well, you definitely won't have anything to complain about it, I assure you. Just look at Fuu right now to see. She had finished devouring her third bowl before Sakura and Sasuke could finish their first.

"Wow," Sakura's eyes twitched. "She really is just like Naruto, huh."

"Just great," Sasuke groaned. "The last thing this village needs is another ramen addict like him."

"One more please!" chorused the two jinchuriki next to them. Sasuke and Sakura facepalmed.

"Yes, they are alike."

* * *

><p>"Who is he?" Jiraiya looked at the unconscious man in the prison cell and asked.<p>

"He is a soldier of Orochimaru Kakashi and Gai managed to capture during the invasion," Hiruzen explained. "Before, when Kakashi temporarily sealed his chakra with the Five Elements Seal, he was docile and harmless, but now… well, you know what the Five Elements Seal will eventually do to its victim. And we will have to unseal him soon if we want to keep him alive."

The Toad Sage snorted. "So why didn't you kill him already? He's Orochimaru's follower, one who had tried to wreck havoc in Konoha!"

Hiruzen shook his head. "It was Kakashi himself who personally asked me to find a way to help that man. From what I was told, he has some kind of evil split personality in his mind; whenever he uses the power of the Ryuudou clan he possesses, that split personality will immediately take over and turn him into a killing machine. Do you feel anything familiar in it, Jiraiya?"

"Just like… a jinchuriki, huh…" Jiraiya grimaced.

"Correct," Hiruzen nodded. "And to be honest, after hearing that story, I also want to help him. From what Ino Yamanaka told me, he didn't seem to want to kill people at all. So I think a way to restrain that evil personality will be a blessing to him. I doubt he wants to remain a monster of Orochimaru after all."

The two Konoha shinobi looked at the unconscious man for a while. Then Jiraiya said.

"This person is of the Ryuudou clan, right? If he joins our shinobi force, he will be a very great asset for Konoha…"

Hiruzen raised an eyebrow. "What do you take me for, Danzo?"

Jiraiya laughed. "I'm kidding, I'm kidding. I know you will never do that. But what do you think we should do?"

The Hokage said grimly. "I'm thinking of separating and sealing the dark personality inside him up. Without the influence of that personality, he can control the power inside him, and live as a normal human."

"So it means you have found a way to do that? You are even better than me at fuinjutsu, right?"

Hiruzen nodded. "Yes. But I can't do it alone. The seal required for this is so complex one person cannot complete it. But with you here, things will be different."

The Toad Sage grinned. "Then what are we waiting for?"

* * *

><p>Juugo opened his eyes with a groan.<p>

The cold floor of a cell was not something unfamiliar to him. He had spent a large part of his life in the cell at Orochimaru's base.

What's different was the two men standing over him, staring.

"Good morning," the seemingly older one of them, the one with white hair, smiled.

_Oh no…_

"No! Get out of here! Leave me alone!" Juugo's mind immediately went blank in terror. He screamed out, scrambling toward the other side of the cell. "Please! I don't want to kill you!"

"Now, see here…" the man with the goatee said and walked toward him, but that only made Juugo bury himself even further into the wall.

"Get away! Don't go near me! I…!"

Then he nearly jumped when the man's hand clapped down on his shoulder.

"Just calm down. Do you feel anything different with your body?"

"I…!"

Juugo flinched when he heard the man saying those words. That was true… There were people here, facing him… but he didn't feel anger, madness like he used to.

"How…?"

"Sorry, Ryuudou-kun," the man said apologetically. "We have sealed up the evil personality inside you without asking you first. Now he won't be able to get out to take over your body and wreck havoc anymore. We should have consulted you before doing that…"

Juugo's eyes widened. "You… were able to do that?"

"Of course," the man nodded. "From what I have noticed, you don't seem to like killing people, do you? Well, from now on your power is yours to control; you don't have to use it if you don't want to anymore, I assure you. Try it and you'll see."

Seeing Juugo still hesitating, the goateed man smiled. "Oh, come on. You doubt the skill of the Hokage that much? Just try it; if anything happens, we will be here to stop it. Don't worry."

Juugo's eyes widened even further. "You are the Hokage?!"

The Hokage smiled, and nodded. Juugo gulped, and tried activating his ability.

Immediately, his body was filled with nature chakra… but this time, it was different. Unlike before, when he had always lost control of his body and couldn't have felt anything, now he felt it, powerful and lively inside him, just like a blazing flame had just been ignited. His body still twisted and morphed, but now, he could turn it into anything he thought of. He willed his arm to turn into a blade, and it turned into a blade. He commanded wings to extend from his shoulders, and a pair of wings indeed sprouted out. The Hokage was right; he now had complete control over his own body, without going mad. Now he felt more… human than ever in his life.

"I-I… It was real… I don't feel it inside me anymore… I'm free… I'm free!"

Then suddenly, he bolted up and kneeled before the Hokage, startling the man.

"Lord Hokage, thank you very much for saving my life! I swear I will do anything for you, even dying if you ask me to!"

The Hokage chuckled, and reached out his hands to pull Juugo up. "We'll talk about that later. Now, maybe you should tell me your story first, shouldn't you?"

* * *

><p>"My clan has a unique ability, just like you have just seen, sir," Juugo started with a heavy voice. "Thanks to that power, many great countries had tried to acquire our power for their own benefit, and many of our clan members also went and took jobs as mercenaries, too."<p>

Jiraiya scratched his cheek. "I think I've heard stories about your clan. The clan base was supposed to be somewhere near the Ryuuchi Cave, the home of the Snake Tribe, right?"

"Yes," Juugo nodded. "Most people in our clan, because of the terrifying power we have, tended to enjoy killing people, just because we could. But…"

Hiruzen blinked. "But? You are an exception, right? You don't want to kill."

Juugo sighed and shook his head. "Actually, I don't mind killing if I have to do it. It's just…"

"Just?"

Juugo sighed even more sadly and buried his face into his hands. "When I first awakened my ability, I murdered my family."

* * *

><p>"<em>No… Mother… Father… Hotaru-chan… What have I done…? No… NOOOOOOOOOO!"<em>

* * *

><p>"So that's why you…" Jiraiya trailed off. Juugo nodded.<p>

"That's right, sir. That's why I sought Orochimaru for help. I thought that with his power and knowledge, he might have a way to cure me of my… problem… but instead…"

"Typical Orochimaru," Jiraiya scowled. "Never considers other people anything else than his tools…"

"So… well, after that, you already knew what happened," Juugo finished miserably. "Occasionally, he made his people fight me, sometimes for fun, sometimes to test whether they were strong enough or not. I've lost count how many people I've killed whenever I went berserk…"

At this point, Juugo couldn't speak anymore; tears started running down his cheeks.

Then he felt the man's hand grasping his shoulder again.

"Don't worry about the past," the Hokage said quietly. "Mourning about what happened in the past won't help you getting through your guilt. True, you have killed many people, but what you should do is working to redeem yourself, not moping around and running away from people. Protecting people, doing things that make people happy, that might be a good start for you, you know."

Then he smiled, a bit more cheerfully. "Oh, but why should we worry about that right now? Let's get you out of here first! Neko, can you prepare accommodation for him? Somewhere near the Hokage tower is good."

When Juugo followed the ANBU member out of his holding cell, free, with the Hokage walking right next to them like an equal, he couldn't help a thought popping out of his head.

"Konoha really is different, huh…"

* * *

><p>"Konoha really is different, huh…"<p>

Fuu marvelled after her trip around Konoha. The village was totally different from what she had expected from a shinobi village. Sure, Takigakure was also a shinobi village, but it was nothing comparing to Konohagakure.

Naruto beamed. "This is nothing! There are many other good things about Konoha! You must stay here some time to know all of them!"

Behind Naruto, Sakura and Sasuke winced slightly. Naruto's voice was cheerful and honest, without any sign of hatred or anger inside, but when they thought about what had really happened to their friend in the past…

"Oiiii, Naruto!"

Naruto turned his head and waved cheerfully. "Hey, Kiba, Shino!"

"Is it true?" the Inuzuka boy asked in his breath. "Is it true that you brought Tsunade-sama back to Konoha? That Hinata can wake up?"

Naruto nodded, "Of course! Baa-chan is the best medic in the world; if she cannot bring Hinata back, no one can!"

Kiba stared. "Did you just call one of the Legendary Sannin 'grandma'?"

"Why not?" Naruto shrugged. "She is old, so she really is a grandma, you know."

Kiba facepalmed. "Naruto…"

"Excuse me, Naruto, but who is that girl behind you?"

Naruto blinked. "Oh, I almost forgot! This is…"

"Hi! My name is Fuu! Let's become friends!"

Kiba and Shino were startled when the beaming face of Fuu appeared right in front of them. "Uhh…"

"I was from Takigakure!" Fuu continued cheerily. "Naruto-kun and everyone here saved me from the Akatsuki, and after that, our leader assigned me to come to Konoha to join you guys! So we are going to become comrades soon! Please take care of me!"

Kiba sweatdropped. "She's weird…"

"Who exactly are you?"

The question from Shino startled everyone.

"Uh… what do you…?" Sakura started, but the Aburame didn't let her finish.

"Never before have my breathens reacted like this," Shino raised his hand, and a bunch of kikaichu from inside his body crawled out. "Your chakra… it's incredibly strong, just like Naruto… but somehow, it doesn't make my kikaichu afraid like Naruto's chakra… rather, they love it and enjoy it, and somehow, they want to follow it. Just who are you?"

Instead of answering, Fuu stared at the tiny creatures on the Aburame's hand. "Ooh, are they bugs? I love them!"

Shino blinked behind his shade.

Kiba gaped. "A girl who loves bugs? Okay, now this is what I call weird. Who the hell is she, Naruto?"

"Oi, don't be mean to her, Kiba!" Naruto protested. "She is my friend, and I trust her completely, believe it!"

"Ahh, now I see!" Kiba's eyes widened in realization. "So this is another girl in your…"

BLAM!

"Not. Another. Word." Naruto growled after punching the poor Inuzuka boy in the face, making Akamaru sitting on his head fall to the ground.

Sasuke snickered.

"Oh, shut up, teme!"

'_**You know, I can't understand why you still haven't admitted that you are building a harem,' **_the voice of Goku from inside his head chimed in. _**'It is too freaking obvious already.'**_

"I AM NOT BUILDING A HAREM DAMN IT!"

Suddenly he felt Sakura's hand grasping his shoulder.

"Uh, Naruto…" she whispered with a sweatdrop, "…even if you _really _didn't, now everyone in the town has already known it."

Naruto looked around, and paled when he realized what he had just done. "Ugh…"

Then he frowned. "Hey wait. What do you mean I 'really' didn't?"

The pinkette shrugged.

"Well, if Naruto trusts you, there is no reason for us not to," Shino nodded. "Welcome to Konoha, Fuu-san. My name is Shino Aburame, nice to meet you." He raised his hand, and Fuu grabbed it with both her hands with a cheerful smile.

"Thank you, Shino-kun! I hope we can become best friends!"

Had Shino not been wearing his usual jacket, everyone would have been able to see his blushing face under the high collar.

"This village is getting weirder and weirder…" Kiba groaned.

Akamaru whined.

* * *

><p>The streets were always something alien to Juugo. Well, it was obvious, considering years of imprisoning in Orochimaru's base without being able to see the sun, and his madness…<p>

Walking around in somewhere with so many other people, looking at them talking, laughing and doing daily things like this… it made him feel more… human than ever.

"Wow, onii-san, you're so big!"

Juugo blinked. At his feet, a little boy who was definitely no older than five was looking up at him in awe. This was the first time someone dared to go near him like that… when he wasn't even restrained… He smiled, and kneeled down to rub the little boy's head.

Then suddenly he felt himself unable to move a muscle.

"Shadow Possession Jutsu success."

It was Shikamaru who bound him in place with his signature jutsu. On the boy's face, there was a deep expression of rage.

"Ino, get the kid out of there!" he barked. "Choji, get ready to hit him with the most powerful technique you have!"

_Oh no…_

"On it! Partial Expansion Jutsu!"

Then Juugo was sent flying by a punch from the fat boy. He crashed on the ground painfully; everything became a blur around him. He could only see a vague image of something very big starting to descend on his head.

His instinct screamed at him to tap into his power, not to return fire, but to survive…

But…

_What you should do is working to redeem yourself._

No. He would not use his power. That would only prove that he was still the bloodthirsty monster who destroyed things on his whim. He would not use it, not to fight people in the village he was going to settle in… Not after that man, the Hokage, had helped him and put all of his trust in him!

He closed his eyes, ready to take whatever was going to ram on his head.

"No! Stop!"

The scream rose so suddenly even Juugo himself was startled.

"What the…?! Ino, what are you doing?"

Everything in his eyes was still blurry, so he couldn't see clearly. But had he been able to do so, he would have seen the blonde girl of the group standing in front of him, her arms spread wide, preventing her teammates from attacking him.

"Just wait," the girl said, her eyes locked at the two boys.

"Ino, this is the monster who nearly flattened half of Konoha, don't you remember?" the Shikamaru gritted his teeth. "We have to stop him before it happens again!"

"No Shikamaru!" Ino yelled back. "Don't you remember when I got into his mind? He tried to protect me from that monster! And his eyes right now are just like that time…"

"You can't be serious!" Shikamaru barked. "If he destroys the village again, who will take the responsibility?"

"I…" Ino hesitated. Then she also barked, even harsher than the boy. "But even so, you cannot just go and attack him like that! It's just… wrong! He hasn't done anything wrong… yet…"

"Yet?! Are you mad? He tried to destroy our village once; what makes you think he won't do it again?!"

"You know what Shikamaru? If you keep saying that, someone you know will be very sad."

The sudden voice made everyone jump.

Shikamaru's head snapped back. "Asuma…"

"Stand down, Shikamaru," the bearded man commanded. Shikamaru still looked like he wanted to protest, but a hand put on his shoulder immediately shut him up.

The jonin grinned with the cigarette still on his mouth. "That man is not a threat to our village anymore. My father helped him; now he is able to live as a normal man in Konoha with us."

Seeing Shikamaru still wanting to complain, Asuma's face hardened. "Shikamaru, the Hokage himself has assured about his credibility. Are you questioning the decision of the Hokage?"

"I… no… but…" the Nara flinched. "Ugh… all right… so troublesome…" he muttered.

Choji breathed out in relief, and deflated himself. Obviously he didn't want to stumble into a fight like this, either.

While the boys were talking, Ino walked to where Juugo was lying and pulled him up.

"Are you all right? Sorry for my teammates attacking you without asking like that…"

Juugo groaned and pushed himself up. "No… It's alright… I was the one who attacked your village at the first place anyway… I'm sorry…"

Ino smiled. "If the Hokage says you are a good guy now, then you are a good guy. I trust you. After all, this is not the first time I met you, right?"

Juugo also smiled back. "Yeah..."

"Well, that's that," Asuma smiled, throwing his cigarette away. "Now, it's time for the barbecue party to celebrate Shikamaru's promotion, right? Juugo-san, if you want, can you join us? I'm sure my team will want to know more about you," he looked at the orange haired man. Appalled, Juugo could only nod dumbly.

"Great! Then let's go!" Ino smiled happily, and pulled the male's arm, as if they were already friends for a long time.

"Why are you all so nice to me?" Juugo mumbled. "I nearly destroyed your village before…"

"Well, I'm not," Shikamaru muttered. Ino bonked him on the head, then smiled sweetly.

"I am trained in mind jutsu, Juugo-kun," she said. "I was the one who met you in your mindscape, remember? It's just a quick glimpse, but I could still see your eyes; they were the same as they are right now. That's why I believe in you. The eyes are the very first things to look at when you want to know if someone is truthful or not. And…"

Suddenly she stopped, and blushed.

"And?" Juugo blinked curiously.

"Uh-oh…" Choji's eyes widened in horror.

"And…" Ino's fingers started twiddling not unlike Hinata when she stood in front of Naruto. "And you're kinda cute too."

Let's just say that this was the first time in his life Juugo of the Scales knew how it was to blush.

* * *

><p>"No way… That's…"<p>

"It's Tsunade-sama! Tsunade-sama is back!"

"Wow! She looks much younger than I expected!"

Tsunade's eyes twitched irritably as she walked along the hallway of the hospital with Naruto next to her. "Am I really that old?"

The Uzumaki boy deadpanned. "Yes. Yes you are."

Then he felt Tsunade's finger poking hard on his forehead. "Ow!"

"Just because I like you doesn't mean I tolerate you from being a cheeky brat, cheeky brat," the medic said dryly. "Now, this Hyuuga princess girl is in this room, huh?"

The pair had arrived at Hinata's room. Naruto nodded, and pushed the door open.

Hiashi Hyuuga wasn't there. In the room, besides the unconscious Hinata, there were Neji and Hinata's little sister, Hanabi. The poor girl must have fallen asleep while looking after her sister, because her head was now resting on the mattress next to Hinata, and her hand was holding her sister's hand. Looking at the girl, Naruto had to try his best to suppress a shudder. Her face looked like she hadn't eaten for half a month, and even when her eyes were closed tight, Naruto could still feel them swollen from crying too much. And her mouth, right now, was mumbling something Naruto couldn't hear well, but he was pretty sure there was something like "onee-chan" and "wake up" in it.

And Neji was the one who saw them coming first.

"Naruto, who is this?" he asked, glaring at Tsunade in suspicion. Naruto grinned.

"Oh, her? She is Tsunade, the best medic in the whole world! She will definitely find a way to wake Hinata up, believe it!"

Neji's eyes widened. "She is Tsunade-sama, the Sannin? Then…"

"Now now," Tsunade scolded. "I haven't even seen the girl yet, have I?"

She walked across the room towards Hinata's bed and put a hand on her body, starting to look for damages. Her face turned into a frown with each inch she scanned the girl. Then after finishing, she demanded with a rather cold voice.

"Who was the one who did this to her?"

An awkward silence covered the room. Then Neji answered in a heavy tone.

"It was me, Tsunade-sama."

Tsunade's eyes narrowed. "And you are…?"

"I am her cousin, milady."

Suddenly killing intent spiked inside the room like a raging flame. And the next thing the Hyuuga boy knew was pain wracking across his ribs as the legendary medic grabbed his collar and slammed him into the wall.

"Baa-chan?!" Naruto exclaimed in horror, but Tsunade didn't let him finish his sentence. She growled in a menacing voice.

"What in the _nine layers of hell _did you do that for, bastard? Do you know what you have done?"

"I…" Neji could only choke out those words upon the massive killing intent aiming at him.

Right at that time, Hanabi woke up. She rubbed her eyes and moaned sleepily.

"Ugh… What happened…?"

Then she saw Neji being held at his neck by a strange lady she hadn't ever seen before. Her face turned from groggy to horror. "Wha…?"

Seeing Hanabi waking up, Tsunade scowled. She turned to Naruto. "Who is the jonin sensei of this girl?"

"Uh…" Naruto hesitated. "It's Kurenai-sensei, but…"

Hearing that, Tsunade dropped Neji down mercilessly and with a "whoosh", she disappeared from the room, leaving the three clueless children in the room looking at each other in fear and confusion.

"What just happened?"

* * *

><p>Kurenai jumped when she heard a loud "bang" on her door. The first thing she thought of was that someone was attacking her house. She pulled out a kunai, and inched carefully towards the door.<p>

But then she jumped again when a voice screamed from outside.

"Kurenai Yuuhi! Are you at home? I want to talk to you!

Kurenai stared at the door as if hypnotized by it. That voice was, no doubt, of a woman. But except for Anko, what kind of woman was that rude?

She hesitantly pulled the door open, and realized that she was facing a blonde woman with the biggest breasts she had ever seen.

"You are… Tsunade-sama…?"

"Yes," the woman, now identified as Tsunade, answered curtly. "So are you going to let me into your house or not? I have something to ask you about Hinata Hyuuga."

* * *

><p>"So that's what happened, huh…"<p>

Kurenai nodded sadly. "Yes, Tsunade-sama. After Neji attacked her like that, she couldn't wake up anymore. No one in Konoha knows why… Is there something wrong with her body?"

Tsunade shook her head. "No, there is nothing wrong with her body. All the wounds are healed perfectly; I can say that her body is completely healthy now. The problem lies in her mind and soul."

Kurenai blinked. "In her mind and soul…?"

"Yes," Tsunade nodded gravely. "Based on what you told me, Hinata has an inferiority complex. Years of expectation from her father, the little sister who is better than her in everything, and a cousin who despises her with all his heart, I'm surprised she hadn't cracked down for so long with all those pressures on her head. But now, after the cowardly action that very same cousin pulled to try to kill her after she had managed to overcome her fear and stand up against him… I'm afraid her hope and faith, together with her soul, was shattered. That's why her body is ready, but her mind simply refuses to wake up."

Kurenai's eyes widened in horror. "But that means…"

Tsunade sighed. "Yes. Even I cannot wake her up, if that's the case. There is only one person in this world that has a chance of bringing her back."

Tsunade pushed the door of Hinata's room open. But now, there were only Naruto and Hanabi there.

"Where is Neji Hyuuga?" she barked. Naruto looked confused.

"Uh… he just left a few minutes ago… but…"

Tsunade paled. "Shit! We have to find him immediately, or else Hinata might never be able to wake up!"

"What?!"

* * *

><p>Neji held the point of the knife at his stomach.<p>

Tsunade-sama was the best medic all over the world. And yet, considering her action, it must mean that there was nothing she could do… Even the legendary medic couldn't help him redeem himself...

There is only one thing for him to do now… If there was no way to wake Hinata-sama up, then there was no reason for him to stay in this life anymore.

The knife descended on his bare torso mercilessly…

ZIP! BANG!

…or it would be, had someone not shot it out of Neji's hand before it could connect with its target.

"What do you think you are doing, Neji?"

It was Hiashi who knocked the knife away. The man was now staring at Neji with his stern eyes.

"You should have just let me die, Hiashi-sama," Neji answered with a heavy voice. "I have failed you; I had tried to kill Hinata-sama, and now it seems she cannot wake up anymore. If that's the case, I should also die; I couldn't fulfill my duty of protecting her in this life, I must fulfill it in the afterlife."

"Why do you want to wake her up so much?" Hiashi asked sharply. "She is much weaker than you; you yourself have said that she wasn't worthy of being a Hyuuga, right?"

Neji sighed. "I _had _thought that, Hiashi-sama… until she defeated me in the Chuunin exam preliminary."

Hiashi's eyes widened. How hadn't he known about this?

"Yes, Hiashi-sama," Neji nodded. "Not only had she dared to stand up against me, she had also created a completely new style to neutralize the Gentle Fist. It was crude and imperfect, but it worked, really worked. It actually was her, not that Sakura girl who first defeated the 'fate' I used to believe in. She really wasn't worthless at all…"

The Hyuuga clan head couldn't even say anything. It's not like he hated Hinata for being weak or anything, but she really was weak for a Hyuuga, and for her to actually be able to do that… Could it be what he had thought all the time was wrong, and… No, his way of teaching his children couldn't be wrong…

Or might it be…?

"Yeah," Neji finished miserably. "That's why I cannot stand seeing her suffer like this anymore. If she has to die because of me…"

"Who said she is going to die?"

The two Hyuuga males snapped their heads back. Tsunade was standing by the door, with Kurenai next to her. Neji sputtered.

"Tsunade-sama? But I thought…"

"That's what _you_ thought," Tsunade shook her head. "But if I'm right, there is a way to wake her up, and you two," she pointed at the two Hyuuga, "must be the ones who bring her back."

An hour later, the two Hyuuga were lying on the beds next to Hinata in the hospital. Inoichi Yamanaka was standing between them and the girl, holding their hands.

"All right, I'm going to send you into her mind," the mind master said. "I cannot go with you when you are inside her mind, and no one knows what might happen inside a mindscape, so be careful, all right?"

"Whatever it takes to save Hinata-sama, sir," Neji answered curtly. Hiashi didn't say anything, only nodded.

"All right, then… Mind Transfer Jutsu!"

* * *

><p>Neji opened his eyes to see himself standing next to Hiashi in a dark, stormy landscape.<p>

"What the hell?" he mused. "The mind of someone like Hinata-sama can be this dark and eerie?"

"It's not always like this."

The two males jumped when the voice rose below them. They looked down, and saw…

"…a rabbit," Hiashi stared at the tiny creature at his feet.

The little critter leapt off the ground and kicked Hiashi at the head. Repeatedly.

"Ow! Ow! Ow! Why you little…?!"

"Of course I'm a rabbit, you stupid old man!" it snapped angrily. "What's wrong with being a rabbit?"

"Ow! Stop that, you little…"

If this was not a serious situation, the sight of the mighty clan head of the Hyuuga clan being slapped at the head by a tiny bunny would be incredibly awkward and hilarious at the same time.

"Uh…" Finally, Neji decided to break the awkwardness. "Sorry for being rude, but what… uh… who are you?"

The rabbit stopped kicking Hiashi's head and said in a smug tone. "I am Hinata-chan's mind guardian, of course!"

Hiashi blinked. "Mind guardian?"

"Of course!" the rabbit snorted, sticking her – yeah, her – nose to the air. "I'm the almighty mind guardian, the one who has protected Hinata-chan's mind!"

"Yeah, what kind of mind guardian let her host fall into a coma like this?" Neji muttered, but unfortunately for him, the one talking to him was a rabbit. And rabbits were just like cats; they had _very _good ears.

THWAP!

Cue Neji being kicked at the head.

"You jerkass bastard!" the bunny screamed while kicking furiously at the younger Hyuuga's skull. "It was you who did this to her! And now you go blaming me for this?"

"Ow! Ow! Stop, please! I'm sorry!"

"Wait, wait," Hiashi cut in. "What do you mean Neji did this to her? What did he do?"

"What did he do?" the mind guardian screeched. "When he nearly killed Hinata-chan in cold blood cowardly like that, he shattered her mind. I have managed to salvage most of the pieces, but the two biggest ones were still lost. Without them, even if she was able to wake up, she wouldn't be herself anymore! And that was your fault, your fault only!"

Neji's brain felt numb with each word.

"Then we will need to find those pieces of soul, right? Where is it?" Hiashi suddenly asked.

"Who knows?" the rabbit shrugged. "They lie somewhere inside this mindscape, but if I knew where, I would have retrieved it already."

"Then we will go and find it," the Hyuuga patriarch nodded and turned on his feet.

* * *

><p>Turned out finding Hinata's soul in a completely unfamiliar landscape was harder than they had expected. They had walked for nearly an hour, but there was no sign of what might have been Hinata's soul fragment. Everything they could find was a barren, deserted land spreading into the horizon.<p>

The two male Hyuuga walked beside each other in silence. None of them said anything, but both their minds were filled with thought. Looking at Neji's face, even the worst mind reader could see that there was only one idea, which was to wake Hinata up at any cost. However, Hiashi's face was still as hard and stoic as always; there was no way for anyone to guess what he was thinking.

Suddenly, the older Hyuuga stopped dead on his track.

"What's wrong, Hiashi-sama?" Neji blinked.

"We have found our target," the Hyuuga patriarch said calmly.

Neji blinked again. "How? Where?"

Hiashi pointed. "Is there any other reason for the Hyuuga estate to exist in the middle of a barren land like this?"

* * *

><p>The moment they went inside the estate, they immediately realized there was something wrong.<p>

The Hyuuga estate was just like what they knew: an old style, large compound with big gardens and everything. But somehow, they could feel it. It was quiet, just like usual; Hyuuga clan members don't usually run around and make noises. But the silence in the compound right now could only be seen as nothing but creepy. It felt like the compound had lacked the existence of a human being for a very long time.

Walking further into the compound, the uneasy feeling of the two continued to bubble up stronger and stronger. What was happening in here…?

And suddenly, their question was answered by a loud noise. It was a sound of flesh crashing on wood, followed by a choked gurgle. It came from the direction of the dojo at the edge of the compound.

The two Hyuuga looked at each other in horror. Then without anyone asking, they both took off full speed to the direction of the dojo. The way to the dojo was not long, but somehow it felt like they were running on an endless corridor. But finally, they arrived at the dojo, and when they saw what happened, a mixed feeling of rage, regret and shock surged up inside their stomach.

A battered, bruised Hinata was sprawling on the ground, breathing heavily in pain. Looking at her, even the most clueless one could tell that she had just received a brutal beatdown. Her eyes were completely devoid of spirit; what remained in her eye sockets were just a terrifying lifeless white. And towering over her, Hiashi realized in horror, was… himself.

_What…?! How…?_

No, that's not it. The one looking down at Hinata on the ground was not him at all. Despite the face, the figure, the clothes being the same as him, his eyes were black at the sclerae and had an eerie shade of pink at the irises, where they were pure white for a person with the Byakugan. And the face of the imposter was cruel and sadistic, unlike the face of the real Hiashi who was always calm and stoic.

"That isn't a fake."

Hiashi jumped. He had completely forgotten that the mind guardian rabbit was still on his shoulder. And somehow, she was able to read his mind.

The rabbit continued. "Those are definitely the two lost parts of Hinata-chan's soul. I haven't told you about what they are, right? Well, they are the two contrast aspects of Hinata-chan: the nice girl who is an extreme doormat to everyone around her, and the evil developed inside her mind for _being _an extreme doormat to everyone around her. It was that evil part which made her a stuttering mess in front of everyone, and filled her mind with fear and inferiority complex. And that evil part of her has taken the form of the person who she fears, yet admires the most in her life: you."

Hiashi grimaced. So this, everything of this, happened because of him?

"That's right," the bunny answered curtly. "You yourself are the final boss you have to get past if you want to recover Hinata-chan's soul! Isn't it ironic?"

Hiashi gritted his teeth. Final boss… All those times, he didn't know…

His wife was the strongest, yet gentlest and most beautiful woman he had ever seen in his life. And Hinata, his firstborn daughter, was just like from the same mold as her. From the day his wife had died giving birth to Hanabi, he had wanted Hinata to grow up strong, to become the successor to her mother. Especially after _that _incident. But if that were the case, he was the very one who hindered Hinata's growth, and made her a shrinking violet like this.

But if he decided to accept that fact and move on, he would have to give up everything he used to believe in the way of the Hyuuga clan, the way he himself had believed in and practiced for a very long time, since he had been a child…

What should he do now…?

Then a sudden "crack" sound echoed through the air. The evil Hiashi had just kicked Hinata at the face. The poor girl was sent tumbled across the ground, while the dark Hyuuga clan head was laughing sadistically. Her face was now covered in blood.

"Why you…" Neji shouted angrily and shot up from where he was crouching, but the man next to him was much faster than him. The evil Hiashi was sent flying when an enraged Hiashi Hyuuga suddenly appeared in front of him and launched a Vacuum Palm at him, point blank.

"I tell you," the real Hyuuga patriarch growled in rage, "no one is allowed to do that to my daughter, even if that someone is myself."

* * *

><p>"Wonder how they're doing in there…" Tsunade muttered.<p>

It had been nearly two hours since the two Hyuuga's arrival in Hinata's mind. Since then, there was no significant response from their unconscious bodies. No one could know what really was happening inside the girl's mind.

Suddenly…

BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!

"Tsunade-sama! There is a reaction from Hiashi-sama!"

Tsunade immediately snapped out of her idle state. "Report!" she barked.

"His heartbeat is becoming faster and more erratic!" the nurse answered. "It's like… he has started a fight… but…"

Tsunade's eyes narrowed. "No, he _is _fighting. That must be it," she mumbled.

"A battle in the center of the mind?" one of the doctors gasped. "Is it even possible?"

"It is definitely possible," Inoichi nodded. "But it also brings a lot of risk. Damages from an outside battle might be able to be healed, but if something bad happens to the soul inside… well, let's just say it won't be good."

"Well, let's prepare the emergency procedure immediately!" Tsunade ordered. "He is safe for the time being, but we have to be ready! And call a Hyuuga clan member here, just in case!"

"Yes, ma'am!"

When the other nurses and doctors scattered to prepare, Tsunade looked down on Hiashi's body and grimaced.

"I hope you know what you are doing, Hiashi…"

* * *

><p>"Byakugan!"<p>

Most techniques of the Gentle Fist taijutsu style are basically just the application of chakra to the correct points on the target's body. Theoretically, anyone with good chakra control, such as most medic nin, can use it.

However, that's exactly what is different about Gentle Fist: correct. With the signature style of the Hyuuga clan, there is no need for brute force. Instead, to make the best use of the Gentle Fist, accuracy is a must. That's why the Byakugan is a core element of the Gentle Fist: the wide line of sight, together with the deep penetration of vision, is the perfect support for this type of taijutsu. And that also means when a Hyuuga activates his Byakugan in battle, he is getting serious.

But when Hiashi activated his Byakugan, he immediately felt something wrong.

"What the…? How…?!"

The body of the dark Hiashi didn't have any tenketsu at all. Instead, chakra lit up all around his body, as if he was made of pure chakra alone.

"He is the embodiment of a 'perfect' Hiashi Hyuuga in Hinata-chan's mind," the rabbit quipped from afar. "Hinata-chan has always admired you; everything about you in her mind is the best she can think about. You are the strongest, mightiest, perfect warrior of the Hyuuga clan in her point of view, so be careful; this Hiashi Hyuuga might as well be as strong as that!"

Hiashi grimaced. That's why his enemy didn't have any tenketsu. The Gentle Fist can deal significant damage to enemies by shutting down the flow of chakra through the tenketsu system inside the target's body. But if the target's body is made completely of chakra… well, let's just say even if there were tenketsu for him to shut down, they would just be forced open immediately.

People tend to say that the most difficult enemy is yourself. And now he was going to face that most difficult people to get back his daughter.

But…

"Even when I treated her like that, she still admired me, loved me, thought of me as a perfect person…" Hiashi's hands curled into fists. A drop of tear trickled down from his eyes. "I really don't deserve this… Forgive me, Hinata… my daughter…"

His nails bit into his palm. He raised his fist, pointing it at the dark Hiashi.

"That's the reason why, even if you are more powerful than me, even if you are 'perfect', I still have to defeat you! To save my daughter… To redeem all the mistakes I have made in the past!"

He slipped into his Gentle Fist stance. "Now, here I come!"

* * *

><p>The dark Hiashi actually didn't even bother waiting. Right when Hiashi finished his speech, he charged at the man like a bullet; his palm lashed out, aiming at where Hiashi's heart lay, obviously aiming for a one hit kill.<p>

But Hiashi Hyuuga wasn't the strongest Hyuuga for naught. Even if his speed wasn't as fast as his doppelganger, he still had the reflex and experience of many years of fighting in wars. Therefore, predicting the attack coming from one who used the battle style of the Hyuuga clan, of himself, was very easy. He flicked his hand, deflecting the strike and lashed out his own hand, intending to return the strike to his enemy's own heart.

But…

With the Byakugan activated, Hiashi could see even things above his head.

_Oh, crap._

That's what allowed him to retract his hand fast enough to fend off the hand of his enemy, deflected by his hand before, suddenly stopping midway and dropping down his head with a force he had never felt himself using before. Luckily for him, he managed to stop the strike and rolled away, but his wrist still felt numb as if a hammer had just struck it.

The doppelganger turned on his feet and lashed out at him again. He couldn't risk it any further…

"Rotation!"

It's worth noting that Hiashi was one of the rare people who managed to make Eight Trigrams Revolving Heaven, a technique developed for defense, into an offensive technique. The power of his defensive technique was so great not only could it stop the enemies' attacks, it also generated a force which could suck enemies in and tear them apart like a tornado when he used it with maximum power. And now, he couldn't hold anything back. The jutsu was unleashed with everything he could pull out from his body, and his enemy was so close; there's no way he could escape from this…

And it was true; the doppelganger didn't bother dodging. Instead, he matched Hiashi's Rotation with his own.

"What the…?!"

Now it was Hiashi himself who was sent away. The power of the doppelganger's jutsu completely outmatched him, and even with his own Rotation defending him, Hiashi was still sent stumbling back a few steps.

"Hiashi-sama, I'm coming to help you!" Neji yelled, activating his Byakugan, but Hiashi snapped.

"No, Neji, stay there! Try to look for an opening and retrieve Hinata!" Then he growled. "This is _my _fight, and my fight alone."

_The problem is just how long I can keep this up…_

* * *

><p>Ko Hyuuga pushed open the door and looked into the room.<p>

"Tsunade-sama, you summoned me?"

Tsunade nodded. "Yes. Right now I need you to pay close attention to Hiashi and Neji here with your Byakugan in case there is something happening to them. Can you do it?"

Ko blinked. "Of course I can, Tsunade-sama, but…"

Then he saw the unconscious bodies of Hiashi and Neji on the bed. "Dear Kami! What happened to them? Did they…"

"No, they're not dead," Tsunade interrupted him. "However, the fight they are going through right now might be the worst fight of their lives. That's what I need you for; your Byakugan can follow and keep track of chakra, it might be the very thing we need to help them."

"Is that so…" Ko muttered, and activated his Byakugan. "Oh, you're right; their chakra is fluctuating as if they're in a fight…"

Then his eyes widened. "Tsunade-sama, there is some problem!"

* * *

><p>After a vicious strike, Hiashi jumped back a few steps and exhaled.<p>

The fight was becoming fiercer and fiercer. The enemy had his body and skills, and yet his power and speed and chakra far exceeded that of his own. The brutality of the doppelganger wasn't any help, either.

However, Hiashi did figure out one weak point.

From the start of the fight, the doppelganger hadn't once left Hinata's body which was lying on the ground all the times. Even when he had the chance, he still didn't leave the girl to attack him; he just strolled around the body, keeping Hiashi and Neji from approaching her. That must mean he couldn't leave her for some reason. And that might be Hiashi's only chance to defeat the evil him.

That meant he would have to separate Hinata from the enemy first.

But the problem was… how?

"Neji."

Said boy was startled when he heard Hiashi calling him. "Y-yes, Hiashi-sama?"

"Do you trust me?"

The sudden question made the boy blink. Was this the time to talk about something like this? Sure, he had made peace with the Hyuuga patriarch before, but that didn't mean…

"I…"

His words choked midway in his throat when he saw the face of the older Hyuuga. Hiashi was always serious, sure, but Neji had never seen him like this before. His face was not only deathly grim, but also showed a hint of… pain and anguish? And fear?

The proud Hiashi Hyuuga, leader of the Hyuuga clan, could feel fear and anguish?

"I… I trust you, Hiashi-sama," finally, he managed to gulp.

Hiashi nodded. "Good. Then I want you to do exactly what I'm going to say now, no question, do you understand?"

"Ye…"

The words trailed off in Neji's mouth. He suddenly got a very bad feeling about this. "Wait, what are you trying to do?"

"Don't question, Neji!"

The harsh reaction of Hiashi took Neji aback. He gulped. "Yeah… yeah… I'll do it…"

Hiashi sighed. "Very well. Then when I tell you, you have to grab Hinata and run away from here, as fast as possible, do you understand me?"

Neji blinked. "Grab Hinata-sama? But…"

And realization dawned on Neji's face. He yelled. "No, I can't do that! There is no way I'll leave you here to…"

But the boy couldn't finish his sentence, because Hiashi had already rushed the doppelganger again. The real and fake Hiashi once again traded blows; the flurries of Gentle Fist strikes coming from them had become more and more like two blurs.

But that didn't make sense… Hiashi himself knew that it wouldn't work; his enemy was so much stronger, faster and more nimble then him, so why…

Hiashi's fingers lashed out, aiming at the chest of the doppelganger. But the speed was just too mediocre; a mere flick of the hand was enough for dark Hiashi to deflect the strike and sent him back, straight into the open arms of Neji who was standing behind him.

And Hiashi smirked.

His fingers flipped into a one-handed ram seal.

_Wait, that is…_

"Substitution Jutsu!"

The thing at the doppelganger's feet which used to be Hinata's body was now Hiashi. And now, in Neji's hands was the body of Hinata.

_So that is what Hiashi-sama has been aiming for… And now his enemy is in the range of divination!_

The dark Hiashi's eyes widened.

"Two palms! Four palms! Eight palms! Sixteen palms! Thirty-two palms! Sixty-four palms! Eight Trigrams… One hundred twenty-eight palms!"

The fingers of Hiashi drilled into the body of his evil doppelganger mercilessly with such a great force his enemy was sent tumbling away. He crashed at the opposing wall painfully, making a great dent on the wooden surface.

Dark Hiashi pushed himself up and snarled. With the Byakugan activated, Hiashi could see the body of the doppelganger riddled with holes from the Eight Trigrams technique. As his enemy's body was made of chakra, Hiashi's Gentle Fist techniques, if managed to land, would be very dangerous, just like that.

"Neji!" Hiashi yelled back. "It's your chance! Take Hinata and run away from here!"

Neji blinked. "Ah, yeah…"

But before he could do anything, the evil Hiashi roared.

Immediately, Hinata's body on Neji's hands jerked up and trembled furiously. To Neji's horror, through his Byakugan, he could see chakra flowing out of the girl's body into the body of the fake Hiashi at a dangerous speed. The wounds on the fake's body, which Hiashi had tried everything he could to deal, in a blink of an eye, were now looked as if there hadn't been any at the first place.

"No…!"

It meant everything he had done was for nothing. Every technique he threw, or might throw at his enemy, would be of no use as long as the doppelganger still maintained the connection with Hinata. And that also meant everything he did would just harm his daughter instead of the enemy…

Evil Hiashi's eyes gleamed dangerously, and Hiashi understood immediately what was going to happen.

"I won't let you!" he bellowed and leapt out, putting himself between the doppelganger and the two Hyuuga children.

Life flashed across his eyes when the fingers of the fake stabbed his body. He saw the times his brutal teaching techniques forced Hinata to the limit, and the girl was down at his feet helplessly, unable to move. He saw the time he compared her to her sister, that she was not suitable of being the heiress of the clan. He saw the time he told her sensei that she was not suitable of becoming a ninja.

_I'm sorry, Hinata… I have failed to be a good father to you… I'm sorry…_

* * *

><p>"This is bad…" Ko exclaimed in panic. "128 tenketsu of Hiashi-sama were shut down! In this unconscious state, I don't think he can hold on!"<p>

Tsunade's eyes narrowed. She said, "Ko, can you reopen the tenketsu on Hiashi?"

Ko bit his lips. "I can, but only 64 of them; I'm not skilled enough to break open all the tenketsu shut by the Eight Trigrams 128 Palms technique… The only way to fully heal Hiashi-sama right now is to force the tenketsu open with a burst of chakra, like that Haruno girl did during the fight with Neji-sama, but…"

_That way can also be used to break the Eight Trigrams techniques? Interesting… Seems that Haruno girl is not all talk after all…_

"Alright," Tsunade said, "first, just reopen as many tenketsu of Hiashi as you can. I'll handle it from there."

Ko blinked. "You? But how…"

Then his eyes met Tsunade's forehead. They widened. "Is that…?"

"Yes," Tsunade grinned. A series of lines started running down her forehead and stretching to her arms, body and legs. "It's been a long time since I last had to release this seal, but if it's for other people's good, I won't hesitate to use it. Hundred Strength Seal: Release!"

* * *

><p>Dark Hiashi stepped back from the real Hiashi, and the Hyuuga patriarch collapsed on the ground into a heap. The doppelganger turned and glared at Neji, who was now holding Hinata on his arms. His killing intent was too clear for them to not notice. Even Neji was forced to tremble before the massive pressure pouring down onto his head.<p>

Dark Hiashi started walking towards the two children. Neji gritted his teeth; nothing was more certain than that he was afraid. But…

He gently put the body of Hinata down, and stood up, glaring at the advancing dark Hiashi. He slipped into his Gentle Fist stance, his Byakugan flared up without even flinching.

"Even if I have to die here, I will not let you touch Hinata-sama again! It is my duty as a member of the Branch Family… and the duty of a brother!"

Then he felt something behind him shuffling. The guardian bunny had climbed on Hinata's body, and was now sitting on her chest. Her two front paws were clapping together in front of her chest.

"It's time to return everything to you, Hinata-chan," she murmured with her eyes shut.

Suddenly the expression of dark Hiashi twisted into a snarl of anger and fear. He charged ahead, obviously with the intention of getting past Neji to attack the two behind him.

But there was no way Neji would let him do that. Chakra exploded from his body, and he performed the most powerful Rotation his body could afford. Taken by surprise, dark Hiashi couldn't react in time and was sent flying back by the overcharged Rotation.

He backflipped a few steps, growled, and charged Neji again, a palm full of chakra and hatred lashed out towards the boy in an incredible speed. Neji managed to bash the hand away, but he couldn't expect the doppelganger to deliver a brutal kick to his stomach. He gasped and crumpled into the ground, and evil Hiashi threw him into the wall with a loud "thud".

Leaving the defeated Hyuuga boy at where he was lying, dark Hiashi charged at where Hinata was lying, his palms glowing brightly with chakra. The bunny opened her eyes…

…and melted into Hinata's body.

Immediately, the girl's body exploded in a brilliant flash of blinding light. The fake Hiashi was thrown away by the sheer force of the explosion, and Neji had to hastily deactivate his Byakugan and close his eyes to avoid being blinded.

The light finally faded, and Hinata let out a loud gasp. At the same time, dark Hiashi crumpled to the ground and held his chest painfully.

Hinata pushed herself up from the ground. Her eyes, while confused, had had their life and spirit returned. She looked around. "Neji-niisan…?"

"Hinata-sama!" Neji exclaimed in relief. "You're all right!"

"**No… how dare you…"**

The two children snapped their heads back. The dark Hiashi, for the first time since they had faced him, spoke. His eyes weren't in the bright white color of the Byakugan anymore; now they were glowing a blood red color.

"**You… are not… YOU ARE NOT DEFYING ME!"**

And he shot towards Hinata; the girl was now sitting on the ground cluelessly, and there was no way she could react fast enough to stop the definitely killing strike from the incoming enemy. Neji, forgetting everything about his injury, forced himself up and ran towards Hinata to protect her, but there was no way he could reach her in time…!

"Ha!"

Suddenly a blur from nowhere appeared between Hinata and dark Hiashi and rammed into him with the force of a bullet, making him stumble back. The two Hyuuga children gasped at the same time.

"Father…!"

"Hiashi-sama…!"

Hiashi was now standing firm in front of the two children, facing the gasping and snarling evil doppelganger with his usual stoic and stern expression on his face. The only different things were that there was completely no injury on his body anymore, and his fists were covered with two lion's heads made of glowing blue chakra.

"Are you two alright?" he asked without needing to turn back. Hinata was too shocked to say anything. Neji could only stutter.

"Yeah… all right… but… What is that technique? I haven't seen anything like that before…"

_Look at this, Hitomi… The technique you left for me before you passed away… The technique I swore not to use again… I'm using it to protect our daughter!_

"Two fists! Four fists! Eight fists! Sixteen fists! Thirty-two fists! Sixty-four fists! One hundred twenty-eight fists! Eight Trigrams…" Hiashi's eyes flashed, "three hundred sixty-one Lion Fists!"

Hitomi Hyuuga had been a very sweet and gentle woman, but in battle, she had been, and still was, a nightmare to so many shinobi of the Elemental Continent. She was also the one who invented many techniques which were considered some of the most dangerous techniques of the Gentle Fist style. And one of them was the Eight Trigrams: Lion Fist technique. Different from the other Gentle Fist techniques, instead of attacking the tenketsu to shut down chakra movement or striking the internal organs to kill, the Lion Fist shaves off chakra from where it strikes.

And it usually wasn't a lethal technique, but when used in conjunction with the ultimate Eight Trigrams technique, Eight Trigrams: Three-Hundred Sixty-One Palms, a technique with a speed so great it rivals the Hidden Lotus with five Gates open, like Hiashi was doing right now…

All chakra was ripped from the doppelganger by the flurry of strikes. Without the connection to Hinata, he couldn't recover anymore. He collapsed on the ground face down like a puppet being cut off the strings. The only thing showing that he was still alive was that his body was heaving up and down slightly with each breath he took. And when the three Hyuuga approached him to see, they all let out a collective gasp of surprise and shock.

The one lying in front of them wasn't a "dark" Hiashi anymore. In his place, there was a frail, fragile girl with a dark brown shade of skin. She looked up, and the three Hyuuga unconsciously took a step back in horror.

The face glaring at them with a pair of eyes full of hatred was the face of Hinata.

"So this is what that rabbit meant when she said that was Hinata-sama's evil side…" Neji grimaced.

"Yes, but it will not remain in this world for long," Hiashi said, and raised his hand, ready to deliver the finishing blow…

"No, Father, stop!"

Hiashi's hand froze in midair upon Hinata's sudden cry.

"What?" he asked with a startled expression no one had ever expected to see on Hiashi Hyuuga's face.

Instead of answering him, Hinata walked from behind him up to where her evil side was lying. She crouched down, and did something no one could expect: she pulled the evil her up and hugged her.

Everyone was appalled. Even evil Hinata.

"**What…?"**

"You are a part of me," Hinata murmured. "You might be the evil part of me, but you are still a part of me. People cannot become good if they deny the existence of their dark side. Am I right?"

She looked back at Hiashi with a meaningful gaze.

"'A good person is not someone who refuses that they have darkness in their heart, but one who accepts the darkness and chooses to never succumb to it,'" Hiashi nodded, and smiled. "I take back my word before; you really are Hitomi's daughter… my daughter, Hinata. I'm proud of you."

Hinata smiled brightly, the brightest smile anyone had ever seen her smiling. Then, she turned back to dark Hinata, who was still staring at her in shock and surprise.

"So what do you think? Come back to me, please?" she smiled.

And before their eyes, dark Hinata faded away into Hinata's body in a rain of glittering stardust. Hinata stood up and looked at her father and cousin.

"So I guess it's time for us to go back?"

* * *

><p>"…and that's what happened."<p>

Everyone in the room listened to Hiashi's story with shock, fear and fascination. Even Inoichi, the specialist in human mind, had to marvel at the experience the three Hyuuga had just gone through.

Finally, when they finished, Tsunade said.

"Well, from what I saw, you don't have any noticeable injury, all of you. I think you all should go back home and rest. It has been a rough day for you. After all," she smiled at Hinata, "there is a little girl who really wants to see you back, you know."

The four Hyuuga bowed and walked out of the room, followed by the nurses and the assisting doctors. The Sannin stared at their retreating backs for a while and sighed.

"So in the end I was wrong all along huh…"

"Don't say that Tsunade-sama," Inoichi, who was standing next to her, said. "No one had ever expected something like this to happen. If not for you, Hinata might never be able to come back. You already helped her a lot, you know."

Tsunade sighed.

"Yeah… hopefully… I really don't want to admit this, but damn that Haruno girl… helping people really does feel good…"

* * *

><p>Sarutobi blinked when he heard the knock on his door.<p>

"Come in."

Then he smiled. "Ah, Juugo-kun. Is there something you need?"

Juugo walked into the room and bowed. "Hokage-sama. I'm here to tell you my decision."

"Is that so?" The kind smile of the Hokage widened. "I'm waiting to hear this. So, what is it?"

"I…"

* * *

><p>"I can't believe I can live to see the day Kakashi-sensei being so generous."<p>

"All right, Naruto will not get to eat today."

"Aw, come on!"

The four members of Team 7 were sitting in Akimichi Barbecue. Today was the day Kakashi invited the team to barbecue to celebrate Naruto and Sasuke's promotion. And Kakashi and everyone else had insisted that they were not going for ramen, making Naruto pout all the way to the restaurant.

"All right," said Kakashi happily when the first round of meat arrived. "We all knew what we're here for today already, right?"

"Yeah, yeah," Sakura waved him off. "To congratulate Naruto and Sasuke-kun on making chuunin in their very first exam. You already told us that."

No one could miss the hint of dejection in the girl's voice. Kakashi chuckled, and reached out his hand to pat Sakura on the back.

"Don't be like that, Sakura. You don't have anything to be ashamed of. In fact, you are the one I'm proud of the most, not Naruto or Sasuke, you know."

Sakura raised her head and blinked. "Eh? But I didn't make chuunin…"

"Is the rank really that important to you, Sakura?" Kakashi asked slowly. "I don't want to say this, but when we first started the team, you were the weakest member of the three of you. And now, look at you, you managed to outright defeat the strongest genin of the Konoha 12. Isn't that the proof that you have become much stronger, just as you told me you wished to?"

"Kakashi's right," Sasuke added in. "To tell the truth, at the beginning, I used to think that you were just an annoying, useless fangirl who came after me only because I was the last Uchiha… But now, I have no doubt that you are an important member of Team 7… my team. And…" he tried to say something, then blushed and mumbled, "…never mind…"

The three other members of Team 7 stared at Sasuke. The boy squirmed uncomfortably under the gazes. "What?" he asked irritably.

A creepy smile appeared on Naruto's face. "I wonder what everyone will say when I tell them you're in love with Sakura…"

Sasuke reddened. "I'm not!"

"Sure you do, Sasuke, sure you do," Naruto echoed what Sasuke had said to him a while ago with a smug face.

"You…"

"All right, boys, that's enough," Kakashi said, reaching over to pry the two boys off each other. "Today is your celebration, not the day you two kill each other. Now, to Naruto and Sasuke's promotion, and to Team 7's future?" he said, lifting up a saucer no one knew when he had poured.

The three children stared at what was lying on their teacher's hand.

"You want us to drink sake?!" Naruto asked incredulously.

"Of course!" Kakashi answered cheerfully. "You're old enough to become chuunin; you're old enough to drink!"

"What?!" Naruto roared in disbelief. "What kind of irresponsible teacher are you?! We're only…"

He couldn't finish his sentence, as Sasuke and Sakura had pulled his collar and blocked his mouth by their palms.

"Of course, we're having that drink!" Sakura answered cheerfully. "After all, I want to try drinking sake once!"

Naruto let out muffled screams of protest behind Sakura's hand.

"Oh, be quiet," Sakura whispered angrily. "This is our chance to see what is under Kakashi-sensei's mask! Don't you want to see it?"

"Yeah, we'll drink," Sasuke also raised his voice, drowning Naruto's. "But you have to drink it first."

"Is that all?" Kakashi eyesmiled, and lifted the saucer onto his mouth. His right hand started reaching for the edge of his mask, and Sasuke, Sakura, and even Naruto under Sakura's blocking hand, gulped in anticipation.

He pulled the mask down… and Sasuke and Sakura fell down comically in disbelief.

Under Kakashi's mask… was another mask with a slit at the mouth for him to drink from there.

"What the hell?!" Sakura shrieked.

"A… another mask…" For the first time in a while, Sasuke showed an expression of shock and being weirded out horribly.

"I tried to tell you…" Naruto mumbled in his breath.

"So?" Kakashi eyesmiled again. "Ready to try your first saucer of sake?"

The three Team 7 members gulped.

* * *

><p>"Uzumaki-san."<p>

Naruto blinked seeing Ko Hyuuga bow in front of him. "Ehh… What's wrong Hyuuga-san? Did I do something wrong?" he asked nervously.

"Hiashi-sama wants to meet you, Uzumaki-san. He requests that you go see him at the Hyuuga compound at once. Please follow me."

Usually, Naruto would have protested about the arrogance of the Hyuuga man, but his curiosity about what Hiashi wanted of him had defeated his annoyance. He nodded, and followed Ko to the Hyuuga compound.

* * *

><p>"Hiashi-sama. Naruto Uzumaki is here."<p>

From inside the room, the voice of Hiashi rose. "Show him to me, Ko."

A few seconds later, the door slid open, and Naruto walked into the room.

"Hi, Hiashi-san! Wassup?"

"Insolence!" Next to him, Ko gaped, horrified. "Apologize to Hiashi-sama immediately, you brat!"

"It's all right, Ko," Hiashi cut in. "Uzumaki-san, please sit down. Ko, can you please leave us alone for a while?"

Ko hesitated. "But, Hiashi-sama…"

"**Please, **Ko."

Ko cringed. When Hiashi Hyuuga had to press like that, he should know better than disobeying. He bowed, and walked out of the room, closing the door behind him.

Naruto sat down in front of the Hyuuga patriarch and asked loudly. "So what do you need of me, Hiashi-san?"

"What is your motive of reviving my daughter?"

Naruto was a bit taken aback by the sudden question. "What do you mean, Hiashi-san?" he asked in confusion.

"I'm asking you, why did you go so far to wake my daughter up?" Hiashi's Byakugan drilled into Naruto's sapphire ones. "No one works without a motive. Going so far as to make it a team mission to get someone like Tsunade-sama back is even more of a no. So what is your intention?"

Naruto calmly met Hiashi's eyes without flinching, his expression hardened. "So I need to have a reason to help the people I cherish?"

Now it's time for Hiashi to be taken aback. "What…?"

"Well, if you ask me, I'd say I help people because I want to," Naruto continued calmly. "I don't have a lot of friends in my past. That's why I can't stand looking at the people I knew, the ones who treat me as a friend… the ones who treat me as a human, not a monster… to suffer. Does that answer satisfy you, _Hyuuga-san_?" he pressed at those last words a bit more harshly than necessary.

Hiashi didn't faze under Naruto's harsh words. "So you consider Hinata a precious friend of yours?" he asked, his eyes still fixing on Naruto's face, scanning for any sign of lies. Naruto nodded.

"Yes. I'm proud to say that she is one of my most precious people. She is the very first person who didn't run away from me, or glare at me like I was going to kill their children. I just regret that I didn't notice it earlier, so that I can pay her back for being the only one who accepted me for a while…" he added bitterly, thinking back about the times he had thought of her as "weird", "strange", the time she had confessed to him and he hadn't even given it a thought, the time she sacrificed herself to protect him when they had faced Madara…

Hiashi had been looking at him with a very strange expression on his face since Naruto started expressing himself. Finally, when the boy finished, he closed his eyes, then stood up with an unreadable face.

"I see. Thank you for your time, Uzumaki-san. You can go."

And he walked out of the room, but when he got past Naruto, he suddenly said something which shocked Naruto and even all the Tailed Beasts inside him.

"Please take care of my daughter."

* * *

><p>"Kakashi, can I ask you for a favor?"<p>

Kakashi turned a page of his inherited copy of Icha Icha Emotion when he heard Sasuke's question. "Hm? You need something of me, Sasuke?"

"You have the Mangekyo Sharingan, don't you?"

That question actually snapped Kakashi out of his reading enthusiasm. He lifted his eyes off his book and looked at the Uchiha boy with an alarmed eye. "I have, but what do you need of me? If you are trying to look for a way to gain it…"

"No, no," Sasuke shook his head hastily. "It's just… If you really have one, can you read something for me?"

Kakashi blinked. "Read?"

* * *

><p>A few minutes later, the two shinobi were standing in the secret room of the Naka Shrine, the Stone Tablet of the Sage of Six Paths lying in front of them.<p>

"Are you sure about this, Sasuke?" Kakashi asked warily. "This is the secret of your clan; I don't think I have the right to intrude…"

Sasuke shook his head. "I'm the only one left of the Uchiha clan in this village, so I'm basically the leader of the clan now; I have the right to let you look at it when I want to. Furthermore…" he bit his lip, "there is a very large section of this tablet I cannot read even with my Sharingan. I have a really bad feeling about it…"

Kakashi nodded. "I see. So you think the Mangekyo Sharingan can decipher it better?"

"Yeah. So, can you…?"

"All right," Kakashi sighed, and lifted his headband up, revealing his own Sharingan. "Hey, you're right; I can read something here with my Sharingan…"

Then he frowned. "Hmm… it says something here about the Sharingan's powers, and how they are acquired by a deep shock into the mind of an Uchiha… and this… damn…" he grimaced, "…how to acquire the Mangekyo Sharingan… by severing the tie to the closest person you have… meaning killing them…"

"Who did you kill to gain this eye?" Sasuke suddenly asked. Kakashi winced; he really didn't want to remind himself about this, but…

"It was my teammate, Rin," he sighed. "I cannot ever forget what happened that day. At that time, she was captured by Kirigakure and…" he faltered here a bit. Then, he decided that reminding Sasuke about this earlier might be better for him. "Well, an imposter tried to guilt-trip me by transforming into her, telling me that the Three-Tails was sealed into her and jumping into the way of my Chidori. Even until now, I still couldn't find out what happened to the real her…"

"I see…" Sasuke pondered. Then he froze. "Wait. But that imposter wasn't even your real teammate, right? Does that mean…"

"Yes," Kakashi nodded. "I think acquiring the Mangekyo Sharingan doesn't require you to kill someone close to you in cold blood at all; a very deep and painful trauma in your heart might be able to do it. But I still wish you would never get it at all; having a trauma of that scale is not a nice thing to face at all, you know. And I think what Itachi told you had some truth in it; after all, killing someone close to you is the easiest way to have a great trauma in your mind."

"Yeah," Sasuke snarked. "I had watched my family, my clan being killed right in front of me; I wonder what might be more 'not nice' than that?"

Kakashi shook his head. "You can't know it yet, Sasuke. Maybe someday, when you grow up a bit more… you will understand there are things even worse than death, even worse than fear… But oh well; now it's time for our main work. Mangekyo Sharingan!"

Kakashi's eye twisted and morphed into the pinwheel shape of his Mangekyo Sharingan. The lone opened eye widened immediately.

"Wow. It really shows a lot more than what I read with my normal Sharingan. I wonder how the creator of this tablet could make it like that…"

"What does it say?" Sasuke asked, thrilled.

"Let's see…" Kakashi said, narrowing his eye to see clearer. "In here, it says that the awakening of the Mangekyo Sharingan is the very proof of the Curse of Hatred in an Uchiha's heart. It says that the Mangekyo Sharingan's power is based on the deepest desire in the user's heart; I don't quite understand this… I don't know many Mangekyo users anyway…"

"Itachi has Tsukuyomi, the ultimate genjutsu, as the powers of his Mangekyo," Sasuke guessed. "Maybe that was because he wanted to hide his real self from other people?"

"Maybe… but… that can't explain my Kamui power… unless…" Kakashi pondered, then grimaced. "Never mind… Moving on," he continued, "it states that each use of the eyes' power will shave away the light of your eyes… damn… so that's why I felt kinda dizzy in my left eye after I used Kamui…"he winced.

"Each use of the power…" Sasuke grimaced. "So it means that if your eye is overused, it will eventually go blind… and Itachi's eyes too…"

"It seems so," Kakashi nodded. "But hmm… In here it also says something that if the two sibling pairs of eyes become one, the inextinguishable light will be restored, stronger than ever… And it notes some kind of ritual here… Maybe this is the way of recovering the eyesight after becoming blind?"

"Maybe…" Sasuke bit his lip. "But those 'two pairs of eyes becoming one' words, they feel disturbing… it sounds like we have to kill our brother and steal his eyes to gain back our own eyesight. That's just… inhumane. So that's the way the Uchiha clan gained their power? By murdering their own kind? That is the true face of the clan my father had told me to be proud of, to follow their footsteps?" he spat out in pain and shame.

Kakashi couldn't say anything. He only reached out his hand and squeezed the Uchiha boy's shoulder in silence. Then, after a while, he pulled down his hitai-ate to cover his Sharingan and said.

"So, should we go? I think I should go to Tsunade-sama. Even if there is no way to prevent the deterioration from happening completely, I think she might have some way to at least do something about it."

* * *

><p>"Hmm… It's true," Tsunade nodded when she put down the flashlight and stopped her scanning jutsu. "There are damages in your Sharingan, especially in the retina."<p>

"So what's said in that tablet was true," Sasuke muttered. "The Curse of Hatred will take away the light of the ones who abuse the power of the Mangekyo Sharingan…"

Tsunade pondered in thought. "Hmm… I'm not completely sure, but… Tell me, what is the power of your Mangekyo Sharingan anyway, Kakashi?"

Kakashi blinked. "Well, mine has the power to twist the dimension and open a wormhole to suck things in, but…"

"I see," Tsunade nodded. "And you told me that Itachi's Mangekyo had the power to put people in a deep, powerful genjutsu world in which he could control everything?" she looked at Sasuke. The boy nodded. The medic nodded and closed her eyes.

"That confirms my suspicion. You see, this is a theory I come up with based on what you told me, and the state of your eye right now, Kakashi. First, take a look at this," she grabbed a scalpel on her desk. "What do you think will happen when I channel chakra into this?"

"It will become stronger and can help us channel jutsu from them," Sasuke, who had learnt about this from Kakashi, answered immediately. The jonin also nodded in confirmation. Tsunade nodded.

"All right. Well, then what will happen when much more chakra is channeled into this than it can handle?"

"I see what you're going there, Tsunade-sama," Kakashi's eye widened in realization. "You mean that just like this scalpel, if I use this power too much, more than this eye can handle, it will eventually be damaged and break down?"

"Exactly," Tsunade nodded. "Those powers you told me that the Mangekyo Sharingan can use are all incredible powers. However, this eye of yours, as well as other Sharingan, cannot handle such powers in their normal structure. So eventually, with each use, the eyes will be damaged and your eyesight will deteriorate until there is nothing left… when you go blind. But if there is a ritual that combines two pairs of Sharingan together…"

"They will have the necessary structure to handle the power of the Mangekyo Sharingan, so they will not be damaged when harnessing its power, right?" Sasuke finished.

"Correct," Tsunade confirmed. "Now, about your eye, Kakashi, I might not have a way to completely prevent it, but I can still find some way to temporarily fix it after being damaged from usage. But you need to give me some time first. While I'm finding the way, you must restrain yourself from using the power, do you understand me?"

Kakashi nodded. "Yes, ma'am. Good day to you, Tsunade-sama, and thank you."

The two males bowed and walked out of Tsunade's room. When walking in the corridor, Kakashi suddenly said.

"You are thinking about something, are you Sasuke?"

The Uchiha boy looked at the jonin in annoyance. "Am I really that obvious?"

Kakashi chuckled. "Nah. It's just that I'm becoming very good at reading people. So, what's bothering you, my cute student?"

Sasuke pursed his lips. "It's just… I'm thinking about Itachi. He has been using his Mangekyo Sharingan for a long time. So if he doesn't have any way to fix the damage…"

Kakashi clapped Sasuke's shoulder. "Don't worry, Sasuke. Itachi is a genius. He isn't powerful only because he has the Mangekyo Sharingan; I believe that he understands not to abuse it too much. After all, he is not really an evil monster at all; we will eventually find some way to get him back to the village, right?"

Sasuke looked out the window. The sky outside was getting dark.

"Yeah… I hope so…"

* * *

><p>"What does jiji want of us anyway?" Naruto asked his teammates in confusion. Sakura and Sasuke shrugged.<p>

The last night, Jiraiya had come to Naruto's house and told him to go to the Hokage Tower for a meeting the next morning. And it seemed all of his teammates were told to do that too, because on his way here, he had met Sakura and Sasuke also going to the tower.

It was fun teasing them when seeing them walking with each other, too.

"It's kinda weird. Normally, a meeting of the Hokage with a team should be done in his room, right? So why are we going to the rooftop?" Sakura also voiced her own question. Naruto shrugged.

"Who knows? Maybe it's for a big mission or something?"

Sasuke answered him with a "hn".

The team arrived at the door opening to the rooftop, and Naruto pushed it open.

"Hey jiji! What's going… on… here…?"

Naruto's voice trailed off when he saw not only the Hokage there, but also everyone of the Hokage 12. Hearing Naruto's voice, Hiruzen, who was leaning on the rail looking around the village, turned back and smiled brightly.

"Ah, Naruto and his team! Come here, come here! We've been waiting for you! So, since all of you are here, we can start."

"Sir, yes, sir!"

When everyone was in their places, Hiruzen started.

"I guess you are all asking what I called you here for, right?"

"Considering you gathered everyone, it must be something that requires all of us to know and do," Shikamaru said. "But since there is no jonin leader here, it can't be a team mission, so it can only mean you are going to announce something to us, right?"

The Hokage chuckled. "As sharp as always, Shikamaru. Yes, today I'm going to announce to you… the formation of Team 11. Come in, you three!"

The door opened once more, and from there walked in three other people. Naruto only needed a quick glance to realize two of them.

"Karin-chan! So that's why you left home early today, huh? And Fuu-chan too!"

The two girls beamed brightly.

Then Naruto's eyes met the large man who was walking next to them. "You're…"

The man bowed at him. "You must be Naruto-san. My name is Juugo, please help me in the future."

'_Juugo… Juugo… Why does that name sound familiar?'_

'_**He's the man who can use nature chakra to transform in Sasuke's team, remember?' **_Kurama said. _**'It seems he's a good guy now…'**_

'_**Hmm, he's indeed very powerful the last time I saw him… Well, it's lucky someone like him is on our side this time,' **_Gyuuki pondered._** 'We can surely use some help in our fight against Madara later, hm?'**_

"Fuu-san, Juugo-san and Karin-san here will join Konoha shinobi force as potential genin of the village, just like you all, starting from today." Hiruzen smiled, drawing a puff on his pipe. "Now, I hearby bestow you the hitai-ate of Konohagakure, and I trust you to hold out on to it, as it is the symbol of you being a Konoha shinobi, and the symbol of the Will of Fire every shinobi of this village believes in and fights for. Welcome to Konoha shinobi force, you three."

He pulled out three headbands from inside his sleeves. The three new shinobi of Konoha took them from his hand; even with the steel surface, the bands felt warm on their hands, and when their fingers closed around the gear, it seemed to send something into their hearts… pride, maybe?

"Uhm…" Hinata raised her hand. "Hokage-sama… but if they are a team, they must have a jonin sensei, right? So…"

"Ah, don't worry, Hinata. Their jonin sensei is right here."

Everyone snapped their head to where the new voice had just risen from. Kakashi and all of their jonin sensei were standing there from who knows when, waving at them. At their feet was… a purple-haired woman who was hogtied and gagged and was struggling like mad to escape.

"Team 11," the Hokage finished. "Meet Anko Mitarashi, your jonin-sensei."

"A-Anko-sensei?" Sakura gaped. "Why was she bound and gagged like that?"

"When she was announced her promotion by my father, she immediately bolted from the room," Asuma explained. "Man, that girl sure is good when she wants to run away, you know. It took all of us here just to find where she was hiding."

"Yeah," Gai nodded enthusiastically. "And I've never seen anyone fighting back so youthfully, either. She really will make the most youthful jonin ever!"

From behind her gag, Anko mumbled a muffled protest.

* * *

><p>Jiraiya was walking on the trail in the desert leading to Sunagakure. The sun was blazing brightly and hotly above his head, but it was nothing. He had done many trips like this before in his life…<p>

Suddenly, he jerked his head up and looked at the sky.

"What is this bad premonition I'm feeling…?"

A dark cloud lazily drifted across the sky, hiding the sun from view for a brief moment.

* * *

><p><strong>Definition<strong>

**Eight Trigrams: Lion Fist**

**Classification: Taijutsu, Ninjutsu**

**Rank: A**

**Class: Offensive, Support**

**Element: None**

**Range: Close to Mid-range**

**Developed by Hinata Hyuuga's mother, Hitomi Hyuuga, this technique is based on a different concept from the other Gentle Fist techniques. The user of this technique, using advanced Shape Manipulation of chakra, creates a construct made of chakra covering their palms with the shape of a lion's head. This construct, when connecting with the body of the victim, will shave away and erase all the chakra at the place of contact. This technique can be used in tandem with other Gentle Fist techniques, such as the Eight Trigrams 64 Palms and its variation, to increase the effectiveness of the chakra erasing power. Future Hinata also incorporated this technique into her Gentle Step style, creating Gentle Step: Twin Lion Fists. This technique can also be shot from the palms like a projectile with the same effect.**


	25. Chapter 25: A Date Went Wrong

**Happy New Year everyone! To celebrate, I present to you the 25th chapter of Once More! A note, there will be a big twist in this chapter which will turn many things in this story away from canon! Read and find out!**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 25: A Date Went Wrong<strong>

The apparitions of seven shinobi wearing the same black cloaks with red clouds on them flickered into view around a blazing torch, where two other figures were standing next to.

"**Huh, we only have nine here," **the apparition with the shape of Deidara, the mad bomber of Iwagakure blinked. **"Where are Kakuzu and Hidan?"**

"Dead," the figure which was the Deva Path of Pain answered curtly.

"**Dead?" **Deidara laughed. **"Kakuzu, maybe, but a monster like Hidan can die too? I really want to see how he died."**

"That's not the way to talk about your comrades, Deidara."

Even with an apparition, the glare of the Rinnegan was still incredibly scary.

"**So who killed them?" **Tobi raised his question.

"**Just like before; the Nine-Tails and his gang," **Zetsu answered instead of Pain.

"**So it was them, eh?" **Kisame whistled. **"Well, considering who they're going with, no wonder they're killed. It's two of the Legendary Sannin after all."**

"**We were hiding in the outskirt of Konoha, waiting to ambush the jinchuriki on his way back from his mission," **Itachi explained. **"Unfortunately for us, when he came back, we noticed that he was flanked by not only Tsunade and Jiraiya of the Legendary Sannin, but also a girl with the same description of the Seven-Tails jinchuriki."**

The other members of the Akatsuki looked at each other awkwardly.

"**Well, if that's the case, even I won't be stupid enough to charge into battle," **Finally, after a minute of silence, Deidara admitted grudgingly.

"Still, you don't have much more time, Itachi," Pain glared at the Uchiha. "Why didn't you just sneak into Konoha and kidnap him? You know Konoha like your own hand."

"**Yes, but after our last attempt of sneaking into Konoha, they seem to have tightened their security," **Itachi answered. **"Now I can't find any way to get into Konoha without being caught. Still my fault though…"**

"Yes, that is your fault, indeed," Pain said dryly. "So you'd better find a way to get the Nine-Tails quickly, before…"

He didn't even need finish the sentence. Everyone already knew what was going to happen if Itachi couldn't bring Naruto back in time. The apparition of Itachi nodded, and faded away in a flicker of light. The other members also disappeared one by one. After the last member, Tobi, had disappeared after throwing a glance back at them, Konan turned to Pain.

"Are you really sure that trusting Itachi that much is wise?"

"He is a considerable force the Akatsuki needs," Pain answered, not even looking at her.

"But…" Konan bit her lips. But before she could say anything else, Pain had raised a hand to stop her.

"You don't have to worry about Itachi. After all, people won't bet their own life into something if they really have no intention to complete it."

* * *

><p>"Aaaaaah… After a day full of missions, having a bowl of ramen is always the best thing in the world…"<p>

Naruto sighed happily when the steaming bowl of ramen landed on the counter in front of him. He inhaled sharply; the aroma of the legendary food reached his nostrils, invading all his senses, sending him to heaven.

He was a little bit miffed about Sasuke and Sakura, though. Being a chuunin, he could take solo missions if he wanted, but mostly, his missions were still with Team 7, now named Team Kakashi. But his two teammates always flatly refused when he asked them to go for ramen. Sasuke always "hn"ed and mocked him "why not asking your harem to join you", and Sakura always said that she was going to train.

Thinking of what Sakura had insisted, Naruto couldn't help but shudder. The last thing he needed was for Sakura to turn into another Gai-sensei clone.

"Just leave them for a while, Naruto-kun," Ayame said with a giggle. "They need some time alone, just like you with your girls, you know."

Naruto groaned. "I have told you many times; I'm not making a harem, nee-chan!"

Ayame giggled, rolling her eyes. "Yeah yeah, of course you don't. Now, your ramen is getting cold, remember?"

Naruto blinked. "Ah, right!"

He picked up his chopsticks, ready to dig in…

"Boss! There is trouble!"

Naruto dropped his chopsticks again thanks to Konohamaru's sudden storming into the ramen stand. "What the hell, Konohamaru?" he cried. "I was just going to eat!"

"There is something wrong with Iruka-sensei!"

Those words actually drew Naruto's attention away from the ramen bowl. "Say what?!"

* * *

><p>"So Iruka-sensei is acting weird, huh…"<p>

Konohamaru nodded. "Yes, boss! It seems he's unable to focus on the lessons anymore! From time to time he would pull something out of his desk's drawer and stare at it for a very long time, even forgetting that he's in the class with us! Weird, huh?"

Naruto grimaced. "Iruka-sensei couldn't focus on the lessons?! Well, that _is _weird. When did that start happening?"

"About a month ago, after the invasion," Konohamaru answered, and winced. "Well… I'm not sure, but… it seems it started happening after he got out of the hospital…"

Naruto scratched his head. After getting out of the hospital? Those words didn't bring him any more clues than the words before. But… come to think of it, Iruka-sensei did say something about someone saving him from the Sound shinobi…

Inside his head suddenly rose the voice of Chomei giggling.

'_What's so funny?' _he asked confusedly.

'_**Oh, nothing~,' **_Chomei giggled mischievously. _**'You'll find out soon enough~!'**_

Naruto shuddered. Nothing which makes Chomei giggling _mischievously _might be a good thing. Ignoring the annoyed **"Hey!"** of the beetle inside his head, he turned back to Konohamaru.

"So did you find out what makes Iruka-sensei acting so weird?"

Konohamaru scratched his head. "Uh… Actually… no… I kinda don't know where to start it, so…" he admitted sheepishly.

Naruto facepalmed. "Isn't it obvious? The first target must be Iruka-sensei's desk!"

* * *

><p>"You think this is gonna work, boss?"<p>

Naruto answered the boy while still focusing on the lock he was picking. "Of course it will work! I have cracked this lock many times when I was still an Academy student!"

_Click!_

"There you go," Naruto said smugly, pushing the door open. "Just a child's play!"

"You are actually a child too, boss," Konohamaru deadpanned.

"Oy."

The two slipped into the room. Today was Sunday; that's the reason why the doors had been locked, because no one was studying. In no time, the two reached Iruka's desk easily.

"Now, let's see…" Konohamaru reached out at the handle of his teacher's drawer, but suddenly, Naruto's hand held him back.

"Wait. Let me check something first. This is Iruka-sensei we're talking about; we can't be too careful…"

He walked around the desk, looked below and around it carefully, then pulled out a magnify glass from his pouch and checked the drawer. Then he laughed.

"See? Look here, Konohamaru. I told you there would be something! Look at this!"

He pointed at a corner of the desk near the drawer. A very tiny string connected them together; if someone doesn't pay close attention, they will definitely be caught in the trap.

"To go so far as trapping his own desk like this, even when it was locked tight… Iruka-sensei must really have something to hide," Naruto noted.

"So can you break it?" Konohamaru asked in thrill. Naruto grinned foxily.

"Of course I can! I'm Konoha's King of Pranks, believe it! There is no trap I cannot break! Now let's see…"

With very quick and professional movements, Naruto effortlessly disarmed the trap trigger on the desk and picked the lock on the drawer. He reached out for the knob with a gleeful expression.

"Now, let's see what Iruka-sensei has to hide."

He pulled the knob, and all hell broke lose.

* * *

><p>"You suck, boss."<p>

"Oh, shut up, Konohamaru. Help me get out of here, will you?"

Naruto grumbled in annoyance. He was now tied up in some kind of cocoon made of cloth, tar, ninja wire, and something that smelled suspiciously like a mixture of mud and water from the sewer. His eyes were puffy thanks to a very generous amount of pepper the hidden traps had just dumped on his face. On his chest now lay a board which read "ALL HAIL THE KING OF PRANKS".

After a very long twenty minutes, Konohamaru finally managed to pry Naruto out of his prison. The blond spat out a blob of gunk and grumbled.

"Oh, now this is personal. Iruka-sensei is gonna pay for this."

Konohamaru scrunched his nose. "Maybe you should go take a shower first, boss."

"Oh shut up."

* * *

><p>"AAAAAAAAAAAAHH! RUUUUUUUN!"<p>

"OH, EASY FOR YOU TO SAY!"

"DAMN IT BOSS! WHY DID YOU PULL US INTO THIS SITUATION?!"

"OH, SCREW YOU! HOW THE FUCK COULD I KNOW IRUKA-SENSEI COULD TURN HIS OWN HOUSE INTO A FUCKING DUNGEON?!"

'_**Language, Naruto-kun! There are children here!'**_

'_Oh, so _that_'s ALL what you care about?! There is a fucking BOULDER chasing us! How in the world did he do it, anyway?!'_

'_**Well, it's easy; he only needs a few space expanding seals around the corridor and…'**_

'_THAT'S A RHETORICAL QUESTION!'_

* * *

><p>"This is so humiliating."<p>

After the disastrous attempt of sneaking into Iruka's house to find out the truth, Naruto and Konohamaru were now slumping on the ground with heavy breaths. Since when had Iruka-sensei learnt to be such a sadist?

"Ugh! I give up, boss!" Konohamaru cried out. "Iruka-sensei is such a jerk! I'm going home!"

"Hey! You're going to desert like that?!" Naruto yelled at the boy's retreating back. "What about Iruka-sensei's secret? Where is your ninja honor?"

"Screw it!" Konohamaru yelled back. "I want to be a ninja; I don't want to die in a useless prank!"

"That's where you're wrong, Konohamaru!"

Konohamaru turned back to see Naruto pointing at him dramatically, the air around him glowing as if there was a weird holy aura covering his head. Looking at Naruto right now, anyone who was familiar with Konoha would disturbingly think of a certain self-proclaimed Green Beast of Konoha.

"What the hell are you doing, boss?" Konohamaru asked, weirded out.

"There is nothing useless in this world, Konohamaru!" Naruto claimed proudly. "How dare you underestimate the power of pranking, brat? I have defeated many powerful people with it!"

"Like the perverted old man?" Konohamaru chimed in with a snort.

"Yeah, like-" Naruto stopped midway. "Wait a second. What's with that tone, brat?"

"Yeah," Konohamaru drawled. "You still suck, boss. I'm going home!"

Then he jumped away, leaving Naruto behind with a long face.

"Well, screw you!" Naruto yelled at his back. "Who needs an ungrateful brat like you?! I'll find Iruka-sensei's secret on my own, believe it!"

'_**You keep saying that,' **_Isobu snorted inside Naruto's head. _**'Do you even have a plan to do it?'**_

'_Of course I do,' _Naruto growled. _'If I cannot get the information out of his house and his work, then the best way to do it is to get it from himself.'_

* * *

><p>'<em><strong>So basically, your way to do it is stalking him day and night.'<strong>_

'_What's wrong with that?! Hinata-chan did that all the time, and it worked!'_

'_**Yeah, because it only works on you.'**_

'_Oy.'_

Naruto was now sitting in a bush, looking into the classroom where Iruka was sitting in, preparing for any reaction.

'_**That Iruka guy knows all of your tricks, Naruto,' **_Gyuuki noted. _**'You're gonna get caught for sure.'**_

'_Pfft,' _Naruto snorted. _'You think I'm going to be caught that easily? You have underestimated me too much, Gyuuki!'_

'_**You have just been caught in those traps,' **_Goku quipped in.

'_Well… yeah… but have you forgotten who my master is? I might not be able to be as strong as him, but at least I have learnt a few tricks.'_

* * *

><p>"<em>Transparency Jutsu!"<em>

_Naruto's eyes bulged out when Jiraiya suddenly disappeared from the view. "Holy crap! This is so cool! You literally disappeared!"_

_The perverted sage flickered into view again, and bragged. "Of course! With this jutsu, no one could see me or even smell me! And if I'm careful, no one could even hear me too! Complete invisibility! This is why I'm the best spy in the world!"_

"_Yeah, and the creepiest stalker in the world too," Naruto drawled._

* * *

><p>'<em><strong>Wow, that jutsu is kinda nifty,' <strong>_Matatabi noted. _**'Why didn't I see you use it before, Naruto-kun?'**_

'_Nah,' _Naruto waved her off. _'It's just a jutsu designed for mischief; all it does is just hiding my presence… completely… without a trace…'_

A beat.

'_Shit, why didn't I think of that before?'_

Everyone facepalmed.

'_**No matter how strong Naruto could be, he's always a moron,' **_Kurama muttered.

* * *

><p>But as it turned out, Naruto couldn't find anything from stalking Iruka all week, either. Everything the man did was what he always did in a normal day: teaching, buying groceries, going home as usual…<p>

When Iruka slammed the door of his house shut behind him, Naruto let out a disappointed breath.

'_Ugh! What a useless day! I wasted all week following him everywhere, and he didn't even show any suspicious action! What the hell?!'_

'_**Yeah, "what the hell" indeed,' **_Goku said dryly. _**'You could have used the time to train or do missions; and yet you went and stalked your sensei.'**_

'_Oy! It's just because I care about him!' _Naruto retorted.

'_**But,' **_the voice of Kokuoh cut in, _**'if you wanted to find something, you should have waited until tomorrow.'**_

'_Why?'_

The horse nodded. _**'Because tomorrow is Sunday.'**_

* * *

><p>Sunday. The day of resting for everyone. The day for people like Shikamaru to laze around without having to do anything. The day for friends to hang out at each other's house for DVD.<p>

And also the day for couples to go on dates.

'_So Iruka-sensei is going on a date with someone?'_

'_**Considering his actions, that might be the best answer.'**_

'_So why didn't you guys tell me about that before?'_

The beasts shrugged.

'_**Hey, he's out.'**_

Naruto lifted his eyes, and saw Iruka walking out from his door.

But he was taken aback when he saw the outfit his teacher was wearing right now. Instead of the normal chuunin uniform of Konoha he tended to wear, he was now wearing a very formal suit which looked very expensive for the salary of a teacher. On his chest lay a red rose, the same kind as what he was holding on his hand right now. His usual ponytail was now straightened up with something which looked suspiciously like a combination of water and hairspray. Obviously, the outfit of someone who was going on his first date.

'_**Yup, he's definitely going on a date,' **_Matatabi commented.

'_But with whom?' _asked Naruto confusedly.

'_**Well, if you want to know, follow him!' **_Goku urged. _**'He's getting away!'**_

'_Ah, right!'_

* * *

><p>Iruka didn't realize that there was a blonde student of him following behind him. He just continued walking with a goofy, happy face, almost forgetting about everything else around him, sometimes even bumping at other people.<p>

Yup, definitely a guy in love who was going on his first date.

But what annoyed Naruto so much was where he was going to.

'_Where the hell is Iruka-sensei going to?' _Naruto thought in annoyance. _'He's just going around and around!'_

Indeed. Naruto had followed him for nearly half an hour already, but his teacher didn't even have a clear understanding about where he was going to… or it seemed to be. Somehow Naruto had a disturbing feeling that his teacher was leading him around deliberately without him even knowing it. Soon, Naruto saw himself in the far corner of Konoha, on the trail leading to the Forest of Death.

_What the hell is he doing here?! Is he going to the Forest of Death for a date?_

But Naruto's worry was just for naught. The teacher finally stopped in front of a house at the outskirt of the village.

'_**So this is the destination,' **_Kurama noted.

'_Yeah, it seems so,' _Naruto agreed. _'But whose house is this?'_

'_**We'll see soon enough, won't we?'**_

Right on cue, Iruka knocked on the door. From inside of the house, a cheerful "Coming!" echoed out.

_Wait a sec… This voice…_

The door burst open, and Naruto had to try his best not to let out a loud "WTF?!"

The one who had just opened the door, and was running out with a very happy smile on her face was none other than Anko Mitarashi.

'_What… what the fuck?!_ _Crazy snake lady?! What the fucking fuck?!_'

Although, that doesn't mean he couldn't let it out in his head.

Because that Anko Mitarashi didn't look a little bit like the Anko Mitarashi he knew. Instead of the usual trenchcoat with the provocative fishnet bodysuit, now she was wearing a modest, simple green sundress which couldn't be mistaken from a normal young girl. Her tomboyish spiky, messy ponytail was now let down on her shoulders like a small, purple stream. And that happy, blushing in love face was definitely not something anyone could ever expect from the person named Anko Mitarashi at all.

'_**Wow,' **_Goku whistled. _**'She looks really nice with a change of clothes huh.'**_

'_Wha… wha…?!'_

'_**Look, they're departing!' **_Chomei exclaimed when Iruka reached out a hand, and Anko grabbed it with a giggle. _**'Hurry up! They're getting away!'**_

'_Wha… wha…?!'_

'_**I think they broke him,' **_Shukaku, as blunt as usual, noted dryly.

'_Wha… wha…?!'_

* * *

><p>'<em>A movie?! Seriously?!'<em>

'_**What else? Come on, Naru-kun! Follow them!'**_

Naruto groaned. Of all the places, why did the first place the couple go to have to be a movie theater?

"Good morning, sir. What do you want to see?" the clerk greeted Naruto with a smile.

"I… uh… just give me whatever that couple earlier got!" Naruto said, rather hastily. The clerk gave him an odd look, then pushed a button on the machine, getting out a ticket and giving it to Naruto. He looked at the title of the movie, then groaned again.

"'Love Under the Moon?' Seriously?!"

* * *

><p>'<em><strong>Ugh, my mouth suddenly tastes like diabetes.'<strong>_

'_**You **_**tasted **_**diabetes before? Wow, didn't know you're that disgusting.'**_

'_**That's just a way to talk!'**_

After half a day walking around, the stalking mission had led Naruto to the entertainment district of Konoha.

True to the words, what the couple was doing right now could only be described as what a couple of "sickeningly sweethearts" would do. Walking next to each other, hand in hand, sometimes letting her head rest on his shoulder… The only thing they hadn't done in their date was kissing.

Actually, there is nothing surprising about a couple acting lovey dovey together. But Iruka Umino, the serious schoolteacher, and _Anko Mitarashi_, the Snake Mistress, the horror of genin all over Konoha, acting lovey dovey together… well, that's a completely different idea.

Looking at the couple, Naruto couldn't help but shudder. The scene in front of him… it was just… wrong. No matter how much he thought, he still couldn't figure out the reason how it could have happened.

"What the hell did he see in her anyway…?"

"What the hell did she see in him anyway…?"

The voice suddenly appearing next to him nearly made him jump. He jerked his head to the left, and immediately saw the source.

"KA… mmmph!"

"You idiot!" Karin, the owner of the voice, gritted out. "Do you want both of us to be caught?"

"What the hell are you doing here?!" Naruto whispered at his sister, whose hands had now let go of his mouth. The redhead shrugged.

"The same reason as you, I guess. Anko-sensei had been acting strangely these days. So I guessed I would go and figure it out, ya know?"

"So you have stalked me since I left home?" Naruto looked at the girl warily.

To answer him, the girl just smiled mischievously.

"So what if I did?"

"But… but if that's the case, how couldn't I…" His mind flashed. _'Wait a second! Kurama, you blocked my sensing on her, did you?'_

'_**So what if I did?' **_Kurama echoed on Karin's words, to Naruto's annoyance.

'_Ugh, you girls…'_

'_**I told you girls are annoying,' **_Goku drawled, and the five nasty "cracks" inside Naruto's head made it obvious what had just happened to him.

Naruto made a face of an odd combination of a wince and a smirk.

"Hey, wait a second, where did they go?"

Karin's voice snapped Naruto back to his sense. He turned his head back, and realized Iruka and Anko had disappeared since god knows when.

"What the?!" Naruto shouted, jumping out of the bush he was hiding. "Where the hell did they go? They're just here a second ago! Karin-chan, why didn't you pay attention to them?"

"Oh, like you have the right to talk!" the Uzumaki girl retorted immediately. "You're the one who zoned out in the first place!"

"Okay, okay," Naruto took a deep breath to calm himself down. "They couldn't have gone too far, we can still find them! Shadow Clone Jutsu!"

A battalion of Naruto clones appeared.

"Go find Iruka-sensei and the crazy snake lady! Don't let them notice you!" Naruto barked out the order, and the army of clones scattered to every direction. Soon, there were only Naruto and Karin left on the street.

"Why do you call her that?" Karin raised an eyebrow at Naruto. The blond just shuddered.

"You still haven't known anything Karin-chan… You still haven't known yet…"

* * *

><p>"There they are!"<p>

Finally, after running around Konoha searching (with the help of clones), the pair finally found Anko and Iruka, sitting on top of the Hokage Monument, looking at the sun setting at the horizon.

"Wait, how did they get here so fast? This is, like, half a mile from the entertainment district!"

Naruto just shrugged. "Don't even ask for 'sense' in a world of ninja, Karin-chan. Come on, let's go up there!"

Walking from the street to the top of the mountain was not a short trip, but Naruto and Karin made it there in just a few minutes. When they arrived, they heard Iruka speak.

"Don't worry Anko-chan. From the moment I saw you after the invasion, I already knew."

Naruto and Karin froze.

"Somehow I don't think this is something we should stick our noses in," the Uzumaki girl muttered.

"Oh, you think?" Naruto gritted his teeth.

Outside, Anko was stuttering. She was _stuttering. _"What… what did you know?"

"That you were the one who saved me in the invasion, when I was nearly killed," the teacher smiled. "Don't worry, no one told me your name. But the voice I heard before I lost consciousness… it was definitely your voice, not anyone else; and the fact that people said that the girl who brought me to the hospital crying was weird… well, it's not hard to connect them together."

Anko blushed. "Can't believe I was found out that easily…"

"Why didn't you tell me about that?" Iruka suddenly asked.

Anko looked away. "Because… well…"

"Because of your past?"

Anko definitely didn't expect such a straight question. "Wha… how did you…?"

Iruka smiled. "Because you're just like someone I know, Anko-chan. That boy… I must say, he is also cursed with the greatest burden. And I, once before, had also doubted him, looking at him with hostility… Surely you understand who I was talking about, right Anko-chan?"

"So I'm nothing better than that brat huh," Anko muttered unhappily with a pout. Iruka chuckled, and suddenly pulled her into an embrace by her shoulder, making her nearly jumped.

"Since when had I said that it was a bad thing? Naruto is still the student I'm proudest of. What I'm saying here is everyone has a chance to, and deserves to, be themselves, not the burden they're cursed to bear. To me, you're always Anko Mitarashi, the foul-mouthed kunoichi of Konohagakure… and a very nice and beautiful woman."

'_**Aaaaand she's down,' **_Chomei quipped.

'_**Yeah,' **_Goku agreed. _**'I didn't expect that guy to know how to flirt that well.'**_

The two pairs of eyes met each other. For a moment, there was no other sound, except the heartbeats of the two people. Then, Anko's hands reached out, cupping Iruka's cheeks. Their eyes closed, their lips drew to each other, and…

A kiss. A very deep, very passionate, very full of love, and very _adult _kiss was delivered to Iruka by Anko. The teacher also returned the kiss with the same enthusiasm, and loud, wet noises suddenly filled the air.

Naruto's face reddened uncontrollably.

"Ugh, goddamnit. I really don't need to see this."

_Although… even from here, I could still feel that it was completely different from the time Haku-chan kissed me… Argh! Goddamnit! What the hell am I thinking?_

'_**What else? You miss that kiss, that's why.'**_

'_Oh shut up! Not helping!'_

Karin let out a whistle.

"What?" she raised an eyebrow when Naruto stared at her. "It's so cute and romantic!"

"I swear understanding girls is way harder than fighting Madara," Naruto muttered in his breath. Karin glared at him, annoyed.

The couple separated, and Iruka looked at the sky. It was already dark.

"Oh, it's kinda late already. Maybe I should take you home before…"

His words were halted when Anko suddenly grabbed his sleeve.

"Can I... can I crash at your house tonight?"

Naruto and Karin froze again.

"Did she just say what I think she said?" Karin muttered in shock.

Even Iruka seemed appalled by the sudden request of his (now) girlfriend, but the shock passed almost immediately, and with a grin, he swept down and lifted her up in a bridal carry, and disappeared in a Body Flicker.

The Hokage Monument was now left with only the two Uzumaki.

"…Wow," after a while, Naruto finally managed to express his feeling.

"Wow, indeed," Karin also nodded in awe. "First date, and somehow he managed to make her ask him to bed."

Naruto glared at her.

Then a loud grumbling noise came out from the two children's stomachs.

"So… wanna go to Ichiraku's?"

* * *

><p>Iruka's apartment was bathed in moonlight. The light danced on the air, showing Anko Mitarashi in all her glory to the eyes of one Iruka Umino.<p>

"You're so beautiful, Anko-chan," Iruka mouthed, his eyes traced across the curves on his girlfriend's body.

"I know," Anko mouthed back, a naughty light gleamed in her eyes. "And I love you."

The straps of her sundress slipped down her shoulders. It dropped to the ground, revealing her white, smooth and flawless skin under it.

"Tonight, I'm all yours," she murmured sultrily, pulling Iruka in for another kiss. However, the man gently pushed her away and held her shoulders back.

"Anko-chan… Anko-chan, are you really sure about this? I mean, after this, there is no going back for us anymore."

"I am sure," Anko looked at him with serious eyes. "You are the first man, and the only man I really love, and will love in this world. And I will never regret what I'm going to do today. Unless…" she suddenly looked down, "unless you don't want me…"

Then she felt her man pulled her into a deep embrace.

"Never say that, please, Anko-chan. How can I do that to you, a girl who loves me with all her heart and saved me from death like that?"

"So…"

Iruka answered her with a smile. "Yes, I love you too."

Anko's heart melted with each word coming from Iruka's mouth. Tears streaming down her cheeks, she pushed the man onto the bed, and plugged his mouth shut with a deep kiss. Iruka closed his eyes in bliss, ready to accept what was going to happen to him…

"Aaaaaaah!"

The sudden agony scream of Anko made Iruka jumped.

"What's wrong Anko-chan?!" Iruka snapped his eyes open, panicked when the woman let go of his face abruptly and collapsed on the ground, screaming when clutching the back of her neck. From there, red glowing strings of curves and lines were spreading out, gradually covering half of her body. The woman thrashed around on the ground, definitely in excruciating pain.

_This… must be Orochimaru's cursed seal…!_

"Anko-chan!" he repeated, jumping towards her, but Anko's limbs had started jerking around uncontrollably, unintentionally backhanding him on the face.

"Iruka-kun… run…!" Anko gasped and yelped in agony, writhing on the ground while clutching the place where the seal lay. It seemed to halt its way from spreading across all her body, but it was only temporary; looking at the red mark wriggling around on her body was too painful for Iruka to handle.

The fact that her body was in the nude only carved the pain deeper into his heart, looking at the seal spreading.

Then the worst scream yet filled the air. It seemed Anko couldn't control her body anymore. The seal still couldn't spread further, but now, her limbs seemed to be pulled up like being hanged by a puppeteer's strings. Dark, purple chakra was blazing around her, and tears filled her eyes, rolling down her cheeks.

Iruka grimaced. If it came to this…

"Just wait, Anko-chan," he said. "You have saved my life; now it's time for me to do the same for you, even if I have to beat you up a bit."

* * *

><p>Naruto let out a loud burp.<p>

"You're disgusting," Karin wrinkled her nose. The blonde just rolled his eyes.

The Uzumaki pair had just left Ichiraku Ramen after a very satisfied dinner of all kinds of ramen. No matter where he went, ramen of Ichiraku was still the best food in the world.

That doesn't mean Karin and Saikyo's food wasn't good, though.

"But I have to admit, their ramen is really good," Karin noted. "Maybe someday I should take a lesson from them…"

Then she felt Naruto suddenly stopped. She glanced at the boy, and saw him drooling.

She muttered in disgust. "Ugh, I shouldn't have said that…"

"Hey, who is that?" Naruto suddenly said, and pointed towards the end of the road.

Indeed, there was someone rushing on the street towards them. And it seemed he was carrying a bundle of something on his shoulder.

Naruto's stomach twisted. He remembered the time when Hinata had been kidnapped by Cloud shinobi. Could it be…?

'_**No, wait, that's Iruka.'**_

Naruto squinted his eyes to see clearer. Indeed, the one who was rampaging on the street was Iruka. His clothes was torn in many places, and he was panting heavily, as if he had just went through a very fierce battle.

"Wow, Iruka-sensei," Naruto said when the teacher charged across their faces. "I heard from people, but I didn't know she was that rough in bed. You two must have gone all out, I bet."

Then he saw the bundle on his shoulder. It was Anko, tied up with a bunch of ninja wire and a gag, and was squirming around like mad, trying to escape from the bound.

"Holy shit, S&M in the first night? I didn't know you're into this, Iruka-sensei."

"This is not the time for a joke, Naruto!" Iruka snapped. "Her cursed seal has just forced activated on its own… and it looks bad! I have to bring her to Lord Hokage… before it's too late!"

"Say what?!"

* * *

><p>"This is bad…" Hiruzen looked down the body of the woman in front of him and grimaced.<p>

"What's wrong with my sensei, Hokage-sama?" Karin asked worriedly.

"Anko was given the Cursed Seal by Orochimaru when she was still training under him," the Hokage answered. "It had lain dormant for a long time and had only activated rarely before, but it has never forced activation this violently. I have restrained it by the Evil Sealing Method, but I doubt it can hold for long."

"Is there any way to remove it completely?" Iruka asked. Naruto grimaced; Sasuke in his timeline had been given that disgusting seal, but he could have never learnt how to remove it. He cursed himself not studying enough in fuinjutsu at his time.

"None, for now," Hiruzen shook his head. "I have done research on it for quite some time, but I could only figure out two of the seals. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't get a grasp on the third one. If I do anything recklessly, it might even cause more harm than good."

Then he grimaced. "Orochimaru, the bastard… What we need right now is a master of sealing, who is better than anyone in the world… but where can we find someone like that?"

The two Uzumaki blinked, then looked at each other. On their faces bloomed the same smile.

"You know what jiji? I think we know where to find that man."

* * *

><p>After ensuring Iruka that his girlfriend would be all right and sending him home, the Hokage sealed the room up, and Naruto crossed his finger, sending Gyuuki out.<p>

"You must be the great Eight-Tails," Sarutobi bowed. "It's an honor to meet you."

"Nah, those flattering words are unneeded," the ox-man waved him off. "Now, let's have a look at that seal, shall we? Naruto, lend me your magnifying glass."

The Tailed Beast in human form took the glass from Naruto's hand and checked out the seal. Then, he grimaced.

"I see… Orochimaru, that bastard… A genius, but still a bastard… I didn't think even he would resort to this…"

"What's wrong?" Naruto asked, alarmed.

Gyuuki didn't give a straight answer. Instead, he turned to Sarutobi.

"You said that you had managed to decode two seals in this, didn't you?"

"Indeed," the Hokage nodded. "One of them is a simple storage seal designed to store something, which I bet is Juugo-kun's enzyme which allows him to draw in nature chakra passively. That's what gives the user a massive boost in strength and chakra, because nature chakra is much, much more powerful than normal human chakra. But it also comes with a great drawback: alien enzyme injected into one's body might cause severe rejection if the body doesn't have the necessary compatibility. That's why Anko's body was in so much pain: her body obviously isn't compatible with that kind of enzyme."

"Right," Gyuuki nodded. "And the second?"

"The second seal was way more advanced than the first one," Hiruzen answered. "It is a seal designed to store a series of mind-controlling genjutsu which affect the brain, ensuring loyalty of the host to Orochimaru, suppressing higher-level thoughts and sabotaging the ability of the host to reason and think logically. Basically, if a person with weak will is marked with this curse seal, gradually his own self will be erased and he will become a good puppet whom Orochimaru is the only thing in the world which matters to him. But of course, that will not always work with someone who has a strong mind to counter the effect of genjutsu, or someone with anti-genjutsu kekkei genkai, for example."

"That bastard," Naruto growled out. "So that's why the Sasuke in my timeline was so messed up in the head. His mind was sabotaged by Orochimaru from the beginning!"

"And what's with the third seal?" Karin asked. Gyuuki shook his head as if he couldn't believe it.

"You will have to brace yourself before hearing this. This third seal, and the most complex one," he stopped for a few seconds for the three people to prepare themselves, "contains a part of Orochimaru's soul. As long as that fragment of soul remains attached to, and protected unknowingly by Anko, Orochimaru can never die for good."

Following these words was the longest, densest silence the Hokage's room had ever gone through. Then, Karin croaked out in disbelief.

"His… soul?"

"Yes," Gyuuki nodded gravely. "And it also has another purpose. You already knew what the Mind Transfer Jutsu of the Yamanaka clan can do. This fragment of soul, in a way, is even more dangerous. Unlike the Mind Transfer Jutsu, which has a limit of time in which a soul can enter one's body depending on the user's chakra, this fragment resides fully in one's body, and because of that, it can dwell into the deepest secrets and emotions within the host's mind and manipulate them. This, together with those genjutsu in the second seal, is the best instrument for Orochimaru to prepare a body for him to take over when his old body degenerates and dies. After the body dies, the piece of soul inside her body will activate and take over the body. This is his own twisted way to become immortal."

"So if the soul is split into many parts and stuffed into something else, you will not be able to die huh," Naruto muttered. "But that doesn't make sense! I have used Shadow Clone Jutsu many times before; it doesn't have anything like that! The Shadow Clone Jutsu needs me to split my soul too right?"

The Hokage blinked. "Who told you that the Shadow Clone needs you to split your soul, Naruto?"

Naruto was confused. "Uh… isn't it?"

"Of course not!" Hiruzen shook his head. "If it's that dangerous, no one would ever use it! The fact is, when you use the Shadow Clone, a copy of your own soul is made and put into the clone to act as its 'soul'. When the clone is dispelled, that copy of your soul returns to your own body, and overlays with the original soul, making your soul, well, how to say… thicker than before. That's how you receive the knowledge and experience the clone received."

'_So the being of knowledge is still wrong about something huh,' _Naruto chuckled in his head. Kokuoh shrugged.

'_**No one in the world can be right all time, Naruto. I might have inherited my father's mind and knowledge, but after all, the Sage of Six Paths is only a human. There is no such thing as a human who is never wrong… in fact, because the Sage was a very smart and powerful person, his mistakes tend to be much, much greater than that of a normal human. Every wise person is like that… and I'm not an exception, you know.'**_

"But if that really is the case, then we're facing a very big problem," Hiruzen raised his voice in concern. "There is no way we can know how many fragments Orochimaru had spread his soul into. It means we're in the danger of having ten, fifty, who knows how many more, Orochimarus running around after he died! And worse, we have no way to know who, or even what, contains the pieces inside them!"

"Actually, I don't think we have to worry about it," Gyuuki shook his head. "Splitting your soul might sound easy, but as you have just said, it's incredibly dangerous. The more mutilated the soul is, the less human the owner will be, in mind… and even in the outer body. The last time someone tried to do this, he couldn't split his soul into more than seven parts. And that one… he couldn't even be considered a human anymore. I don't think even Orochimaru wants to be like that… so, we can safely assume that his soul wasn't split into more than seven parts."

"Speak about that later!" Karin cut in. "Gyuuki-san, can you break this seal and save Anko-sensei? She's clearly in pain here!"

"I can," Gyuuki nodded. "However, I can only completely destroy the part which contains the genjutsu. The part holding the enzyme, if I break it, it will release the enzyme into her body, and the sudden surge will destroy her body. And the part containing the soul fragment, I can break it and release the soul, but the fragment cannot be destroyed unless it stays inside something. We will need to destroy its container with a technique capable of utterly erasing it completely from existence. Naruto, can I count on you on this?"

"I… uh…" Naruto's eyes widened. "Ah, yeah, I will do it! Just count on me!"

"Good," Gyuuki nodded, satisfied. "Then we will need a big space for this, because this might get messy."

* * *

><p>Fifteen minutes later, the four people arrived at a training field far away from the rest of the village.<p>

"Alright, this is it," Gyuuki muttered. "Naruto, do you know what you have to do?"

"Damn right I know!" Naruto answered, a little bit too enthusiastically. "Shadow Clone Jutsu!"

'_**You're enjoying this, huh,' **_Kurama inside Naruto commented dryly. Naruto grinned.

'_Of course! It's not like I have the chance to do something like this, right? Destroying an evil man's source of power and immortality!'_

'_**I think you're only eager to show off your new powerful jutsu to your jiji,' **_Goku quipped.

'_Well… yeah, that too… but…' _Naruto admitted grudgingly.

"Good. Then are you ready?" Gyuuki looked at Hiruzen. The Hokage also nodded.

"Very well. Now…" the Tailed Beast in human form turned back to Anko, now sitting in lotus position on the ground, her back bared. In his face, a bead of sweat rolled down his cheek.

"Evil Sealing Method: Unseal!" he yelled, and slapped his hand on the restrained Cursed Seal on Anko's neck.

Right when Gyuuki's hand touched her neck, Anko let out a blood-curling howl. Not being restrained anymore, the Cursed Seal started spreading out in a dangerous speed. But it couldn't escape Gyuuki's hand, and in a very quick movement, he stabbed his index and middle finger at one of the prongs in the seal.

"Release!"

The part of the seal which held the genjutsu shattered upon Gyuuki's finger touching it into a rain of glittering light. Not allowing the seal a second to continue spreading further, Gyuuki's fingers flipped and stabbed into the second part, the part containing Orochimaru's soul fragment.

A long, high-pitched scream tore through the air. Out of the seal, there suddenly bloomed a grotesque bubble with the shape of a distorted human… snake… head. It writhed in the air, and Karin had to take a step back in fear and disgust. It flew towards the girl in the last attempt to take over her body, but Gyuuki was faster. He jumped into the way the soul was flying and whipped out a blank scroll.

"Seal!" he bellowed, and the soul fragment of Orochimaru was immediately sucked into the sealing formula drawn in the scroll. It struggled to escape, but everything was in vain; with a loud "poof", it was completely drained into the scroll, and a black kanji of "SEAL" appeared on the white sheet inside the sealing formula, showing that the soul fragment was completely sealed in the room. Gyuuki immediately closed it and tied it up with a "snap" of the rope.

"Now, Naruto!" he yelled, and tossed the scroll into the sky with all the strength he had when Naruto, upon his command, released the Scorch Style: Rasenshuriken aiming at the scroll.

"Down, you two!" Naruto screamed, but Hiruzen and Karin didn't even need him to ask. When they'd seen the potentially dangerous technique forming on Naruto's hands, they had already known what was going to happen and had been on the ground holding their heads when the atomic Rasenshuriken left Naruto's hand and hit the scroll flying on the sky.

With an earthshaking explosion and a blinding flash, the scroll was erased from existence.

"That should do it," Gyuuki said while standing up from where he had ducked down to. "The soul fragment and the genjutsu were completely destroyed; they won't be able to affect her anymore. The seal containing the enzyme is still there, but if she doesn't want to use it, it won't activate, so it won't cause any harm."

"Is there any easier way to destroy those soul fragments?" Karin asked. "It's not like Naruto can be there to nuke them down every time you know."

"Oh, there are, indeed," the Eight-Tails answered curtly. "What Naruto did was actually the very simple way of destroying something like that. Just blast it in the face with something incredibly powerful to damage the container and the soul fragment inside to the point they cannot be repaired by any means. With a living host, the easiest way is to kill it."

A suffocating silence followed the beast's words. Then, Hiruzen asked.

"But isn't that very risky? I mean, a living creature has a soul and a mind of its own, right? If it manages to usurp control of the body, all the effort of splitting his soul and making the seal will be useless! Not to mention the risk of the host being killed anytime!"

"Indeed," Gyuuki nodded. "But actually, the host being a creature has its advantage. When Orochimaru needs to have a spare body, he can just trigger the soul fragment and take over the body, then if he really feel needed, he can transfer the rest of the soul from his original body and other containers into that body without much difficulty. And about the host being killed or usurping control, if the host is strong enough… or… loyal… enough…"

He trailed off, and Karin suddenly paled.

"What's wrong Karin-chan?" Naruto asked when he saw his sister's body starting to shake violently. Karin looked at him and muttered in fear.

"I… I think I already knew who hold the other parts of Orochimaru's soul."

* * *

><p>"A direct assault to Otogakure?!"<p>

The Hokage's meeting room was now filled with shinobi. Kakashi, Asuma, Gai, Kurenai, the old Ino-Shika-Cho team were here, together with Naruto, Sasuke, Shikamaru, Hayate Gekko, Genma Shiranui.

Hiruzen nodded. "More exactly, a large scale assassination mission. Your targets will be Orochimaru's personal bodyguards, the five elite shinobi of Otogakure, the Sound Five. The order of action will be…" here, the voice of the Hokage lowered into a deep, cold commanding tone, "…terminate on sight."

What the Hokage had just said sent chill into the spines of everyone in the room.

Then, after a while, Inoichi Yamanaka raised his question.

"We have just won a war against them. Why don't we just send a messenger over and demand them to hand over those Sound Five? After all, they did play a very considerable role in the war, you know."

"Indeed we can," Hiruzen nodded. "However, even if they accept, it will need some time before we can get them. And we don't have time to wait. We must kill them as soon as possible… before Orochimaru's soul inside of them takes over their bodies and revives him."

Silence filled the room for five seconds. And at the sixth, outrage and disbelief broke lose.

"What?! I thought Jiraiya-sama killed Orochimaru during the war?! How can he revive?" Kurenai asked, horrified.

"He will revive, soon, in fact, if we cannot kill the containers of his soul fragments," the Hokage answered calmly. "That's why I call you here today; all of my elite shinobi of the village to assassinate them. We will need to do it quickly and without drawing unneeded attention."

"But why us?" Shikamaru raised his hand. "The jonin here, we can understand, but why me, Naruto and Sasuke? We have just made chuunin for about a month; our skill and experience can't even compare to these veterans."

The Hokage's eyes narrowed. "So you still doubt yourself, Shikamaru?"

"No, sir, but…"

Hiruzen chuckled. "Don't worry. You are all chosen with a reason, Shikamaru. Remember what I promoted you to chuunin for."

"My intelligence, Naruto's power, and Sasuke's skill and kekkei genkai," the Nara repeated.

"Exactly," the Hokage nodded. "That's why I chose you three for this mission. Otogakure, according to Jiraiya's intel, has a lot of bases in different areas. Therefore, the force here will have to split into different squads; each squad will go to each base and kill the Sound Five member hiding there. Your sharp mind, Naruto's great raw power, and Sasuke's skill will all be necessary, and I have chosen you all especially for this mission. Here are the maps of where you will go to."

Each shinobi went to the desk to pick up their map in silence. However, there was someone else who still had a question.

"Hokage-sama, a normal team for a mission usually consists of four people," Shikaku Nara said. "But here, we only have twelve people. Even if we make three-man squads, we can only cover four bases at most. And this is the Sound _Five. _And I'm pretty sure we cannot afford any more shinobi of jonin level."

"Ah, you don't have to worry about that, Shikaku," Hiruzen smiled. "Come in, please."

The door opened, and three people walked in. Naruto gasped.

"Ah! You…"

Gaara of the Sand let out a slight smile and raised his hand for a handshake.

"It's good to see you again, Naruto."

* * *

><p>In five hidden rooms within the separated bases of Otogakure, five people suddenly jerked up at the same time.<p>

"It's time," they all said simultaneously with the same nasty grin.


	26. Chapter 26: Everything Went Wrong!

**Chapter 26: Everything Went Wrong!**

Near the West Base of Otogakure…

"Damn those Konoha bastards," grumbled one of the shinobi. "Even Orochimaru-sama was killed by them. If he's still here…"

"Like you really wanted him to be here," the other snorted. "At least we won't have to fear that he will make us fight those experiments of him for amusement anymore. I really don't want to die like that. Remember that time when Hideki was literally torn to pieces by those things? Ugh."

"Right," the first one shuddered. "I still remember how I couldn't eat anything for a week…"

A loud "pop" suddenly rose behind their back. They turned, and saw something that made their lower jaws fall to the ground, and their eyes pop out of their sockets.

It was a girl. A very beautiful girl, with long, blonde hair pooling on the ground around where she was sitting. Her two bright, sapphire eyes were moist with tears. Her short, kinda-skimpy yukata was torn and half-pulled open, revealing her breasts – bared, without any kind of bra covering them. And considering the smooth, white skin she's showing at her waist…

She wasn't wearing any panties, either.

She looked at the two shinobi, her eyes fluttered, and she stammered.

"Um… Please… don't hurt me…"

The eyes of the Oto shinobi shone like the perverts they were, and they started inching towards her, giggling creepily.

"Oh, just wait, baby," one said while leering at her lecherously, his hands making obvious groping motions. "We will 'take care' of you thoroughly; you won't be able to walk for a while… HURK!"

He couldn't say anything else, because a kunai had slit his throat. Before the other one could realize anything, a pair of arms reached out for his partner's neck, and with a sickening "crack", the Oto shinobi fell down, dead.

"And that's…" the one who killed the Oto shinobi, Kakashi, said, "…how you weaponize the Sexy Jutsu, Naruto."

"I feel so violated," Naruto scowled, turning back into his normal form in a 'poof'. "Why did I have to do it, anyway?"

Kakashi eyesmiled. "Because you're the only one who can use that jutsu. Besides, would you rather let Gai do it?"

Cue shuddering from every other male in the whole Elemental Continent.

"No thanks, sensei," Naruto muttered. His face was a bit green.

* * *

><p>"Wonder how the others are doing…" Naruto muttered. They were now standing on a cliff outside the Center Base of Otogakure, preparing for their secret assault.<p>

'_**Don't worry Naruto, I'm sure they're gonna be alright,' **_Matatabi said. _**'They're all good shinobi; they can handle themselves.'**_

'_I know, but…' _Naruto bit his lip. _'It's _Orochimaru _we're going to face here; if something happens…'_

"You're worrying about Sasuke, aren't you Naruto?"

Naruto turned his head towards Kakashi, who had just said those words. He sighed.

"Of course I do… It's Orochimaru after all; he had wanted to mark Sasuke before; what makes you think he won't try to do it again? And now he's going alone…"

For a few seconds, there was nothing but the sound of footsteps on the ground which could be heard. Then, surprisingly, it was Gai who spoke up first, in a really calm, not hammy voice.

"Sasuke-kun has matured quite a lot since the first time I saw him, Naruto-kun. Hokage-sama didn't choose him to be one of the chuunin promoted in that Exam for no reason. Before, it's very easy to manipulate him… but now, I don't believe he's that easy to fall into the grasp of evil people any more."

"But…"

"I think Gai was right, Naruto," Kakashi cut in. "I believe in Sasuke. He is not the kid who's hell bent on revenge anymore. He has the ability, and the right to think for himself, and I believe he will not disappoint us. He's just that strong, that boy."

Then he chuckled. "Besides, he's not alone, you know. Asuma and Kurenai are both veteran jonin; they will not let Sasuke be harmed easily. "

Hearing those words, Naruto's heart calmed down a bit. But even so, he couldn't shake away the feeling that something was going to go wrong, very wrong, in this mission.

_Maybe I'm just paranoid… Maybe…_

* * *

><p>"First time taking part in such a large scale operation, eh Sasuke?"<p>

The Uchiha boy answered curtly to Asuma, who had just asked the question. "Yes. But that doesn't mean I can't do anything."

"He still hasn't changed a bit, huh," Kurenai whispered to her boyfriend. Asuma chuckled.

"I didn't mean it like that. You see, you have skill, but experience, you don't have much. So don't run away by yourself; you should work together with us. Charging ahead alone is not wise; the enemy is Orochimaru after all."

_Orochimaru._

Sasuke's stomach lurched up a bit when hearing those words. It's true, that freak was incredibly creepy and dangerous, and the fact that he was dead couldn't do anything but saving people a lot of trouble, but somehow, in some deep place inside Sasuke's heart, he still… wanted to find and confront Orochimaru.

For what? He didn't even know. Maybe because of the man's vast knowledge. Maybe because of the idea of evolving further than even the Mangekyo Sharingan. Or maybe just because he was a powerful enemy he wanted to defeat.

Or was that the Uchiha instinct calling him, pulling him towards Orochimaru in search of power?

_Stupid Sasuke… Don't even think about that. Remember what happened to your clan in their thirst for power. You don't have to get power that way…_

_**Oh, but isn't that the truth for you too, Sasuke? **_A voice inside his head mocked him. _**Don't deny that you're hungry for power. You need power to surpass Naruto, and defeat the one who did that to your clan; isn't it right?**_

_Shut up, _Sasuke snarled to the voice inside his head. _I need power, but not like that sicko did! I will never do anything like… like tearing my soul apart to be immortal!_

_**Oh, really? **_The voice continued to echo inside his head as if mocking him. _**Then why are you wondering about the way to gain power beyond the Mangekyo Sharingan? Admit it; the truth is you're…**_

_Shut up! And get out of my head!_

"So you're the intruders, eh?"

Sasuke looked up when he heard the unfamiliar voice. Next to him, Asuma and Kurenai had already tensed up, their eyes not leaving the new person who had just appeared.

In front of them stood a person Sasuke hadn't ever seen before. He was just about the same age as Sasuke, but his presence before showed obvious danger to the shinobi of Konoha. His body was already very muscular for his age, and his hair was completely white, albeit with a very slight hint of blue. His purple eyes bore into the Konoha shinobi with a bloodthirsty yet calculating gaze. And his teeth were sharp and pointy… just like those of a shark.

The boy, Suigetsu Houzuki, grinned menacingly at the three Konoha shinobi, showing the mouth full of sharp teeth.

"Sorry, but I cannot let you get past this place."

* * *

><p>A chuunin of Otogakure was on his way back from his daily patrol around the base. There had been no suspicious individual around in his shift, which meant he could finally go back to his bunker and take a deserving rest…<p>

Just a few more steps and he would reach the entrance to the base…

Then suddenly, his voice was muffled by a giant hand grabbing his head and pulling him into somewhere he couldn't see. He tried to struggle, but suddenly found his body frozen in place, not being able to move even a muscle.

"What…?" he croaked out when his head was finally released by the giant hand. But before he could realize what was going on, another hand grabbed his head.

"Sweet dreams," was the only thing he could hear before everything sank into darkness.

* * *

><p>"You knew where the Sound Five member was yet, Inoichi?"<p>

Inoichi nodded. "Yes. It's confirmed that the one in this base is indeed Kimimaro Kaguya, as we already knew in the strategic meeting. That means the intel Jiraiya-sama had given us was indeed right. And now, he is lying in the deepest place of this base, under a lot of protection. However, there is another serious problem we're facing right here."

"What is it?" Choza asked. Inoichi answered grimly.

"The process has already been started."

Silence filled the air. Then Shikaku said in a grim tone.

"We have to tell everyone this before it's too late."

* * *

><p>"So that's it, huh,"<p>

Kakashi looked at his hand and grimaced. Before they departed, the Hokage had given each team leader a seal which, when a team leader changed the content, would show that content to every other leader, for communication purpose.

"Damn it. Are we too late?" Naruto gritted his teeth. They had gone the fastest they could here, only to know that the soul replacing process had been started before they could arrive.

'_**I doubt it,' **_the voice of Gyuuki echoed in Naruto's head. _**'Remember, that fragment of soul inside that body, despite being that of Orochimaru, is still only a fragment of soul. Even if the host is completely loyal to that snake, it will still need at least a day for the soul piece to completely take over the body and stay stable inside it. We still have some time, but it won't last. We will need to go fast.'**_

"Then we have to find the target fast before the process is completed," Gai said. "But the problem is we don't even know where the target is. This base is too big, and we don't have enough manpower to handle all of it."

* * *

><p>"A question. Is everyone in this base an enemy? I mean, <em>everyone<em>?"

* * *

><p>"I said we should find the way to get to Orochimaru; I didn't say that we should make the whole base imploded together with him."<p>

Temari stared at the gigantic crater which, five minutes ago, had just been one of Orochimaru's base, with a face half amused, half annoyed. Gaara, the one responsible for this, just shrugged nonchalantly.

"You said everyone in this base is an enemy."

Kankuro facepalmed. After having his seal fixed by Konoha, his brother had mellowed out quite a lot, and had stopped killing people for no reason. He had even said sorry to everyone, what no one could have ever expected on him before.

However, somehow he now got a tendency to inflict unnecessarily massive destruction on his enemies. Just like what had just happened to the poor Otogakure base and everyone inside it.

"I swear he got it from that Naruto guy…" the puppeteer muttered.

Ignoring his brother, Gaara descended down the crater on his sand cloud. Sand started to rise up from the gaping hole on the ground, gradually filling it up.

But…

_What is the meaning of this?_

Gaara's eyes widened.

* * *

><p>"This is strange…"<p>

Shikamaru muttered while sneaking around the corner. Genma turned to him, confused.

"What's wrong, Shikamaru?"

"I don't know…" the Nara bit his lip. "Isn't this supposed to be one of the main bases of Otogakure? I thought there would be more guards than this…"

Right now, they were on their way to the last room in Otogakure's East Base. However, all the way through the base, they nearly hadn't encountered any Otogakure shinobi. Sure, they _had _met some, but almost all of them were grotesque experiments released from the cells of the base. There were guards too, but since they had set foot into the base, they had only met four or five of them. There's no way a main base of a village can be this devoid of human presence.

"Now that you said it…" Genma stopped on his way, pondering, "…this is really strange. This base is quiet… too quiet, indeed."

"Are they going to abandon it or something?" Hayate also wondered. "But… how is it possible? There are many important researchs here… How can they move it from here that fast? Unless…"

"I think that's exactly what happened."

Hayate and Genma turned their heads towards the direction of the voice. Shikamaru was standing in front of an open door, staring into the room with a disturbed face.

"Look," he pointed into the room.

The two looked into the room, and at the same time, let out the same words.

"Oh crap."

The internal of the room looked as if a tornado had just swept through it. This definitely was, or had been, a laboratory, but now, it was completely stripped of everything it used to have: machines, lab equipments, everything. And the most disturbing thing was the corpses of five or six scientists littering around the room, their blood splattered on the walls, and their lab coats were torn to shred.

"You're right," Genma muttered grimly. "They had already abandoned it, even before we arrived here… That bastard Orochimaru has already gone ahead of us several steps…"

Shikamaru grimaced. "But that means…"

* * *

><p>"Little brat, you should let us through to Orochimaru, or I'm afraid I have to force our way through."<p>

Suigetsu shrugged. "Just do it if you can, old man, but Orochimaru isn't here anymore."

A beat.

"Wait, what do you mean Orochimaru isn't here anymore?" Kurenai asked, startled.

Suigetsu shrugged again. "Everyone in this base has left since this morning already. They're going to bring that creep Sakon to the Central Base, where they will join up with Kimimaro or something. Considering their speed, it might take until midnight before they can get there."

"Then we have to catch up with them before they can reach Central Base!" Kurenai said urgently, and Asuma and Sasuke nodded in agreement.

"Wait a second."

The three Konoha shinobi turned back to Suigetsu, who had just ejaculated those words to them. On his hand right now was something they hadn't seen him holding before. In a glance, it looked just like a big scroll with a handle, but looking closely, it was a wide single-edged blade with the scroll stretched on a platform at the back of the blade. And with a close inspection, the three felt chills on their spines as they realized that the scroll was made fully of explosive tags.

Suigetsu continued a vicious grin. "Who said anything about letting you outta here?"

* * *

><p>"Wait."<p>

Naruto and Gai stopped abruptedly on their way as Kakashi raised his voice. He was now standing still, staring at the seal on his hand.

"What's wrong, sensei?" asked Naruto.

"Look at this. 'Orochimaru's soul fragments are not at the bases. They are on their ways to the Central Base, where they will join up with the last fragment within Kimimaro Kaguya.' Sasuke's team has just sent me that," Kakashi answered grimly.

"What?!" Naruto exclaimed in horror. "How can that be?! We have already encountered some Oto shinobi on our way! Wait, let me check…"

He flared up his chakra cloak, and his eyes immediately widened.

"Shit! I really can't sense any emotion in this base! Except… for two… coming right towards us!"

"It seems we've been detected."

From behind a corner stepped out Itachi Uchiha and Kisame Hoshigaki.

"Itachi?" Kakashi narrowed his eye. "What are you here for?"

"That's not what you should care about, Captain," the Uchiha answered curtly. "Tsukuyomi."

Immediately, Kakashi collapsed to the ground, unconscious. The rogue Uchiha turned towards Naruto, his Mangekyo Sharingan spinning wildly, his gaze drilled into the blonde's face.

"Now it's time for you to go with us, Naruto-kun."

* * *

><p>Hiruzen Sarutobi looked at the sky and frowned. The shinobi he had sent for the mission were all the elite of the village. He doubted there would be anything bad happening to them; even if they were unable to destroy Orochimaru's soul containers, he believed they would still be able to escape unharmed.<p>

So why was he still feeling uneasy?

Suddenly, a scroll was dropped onto his hand. He jerked his head up, only to see a puff of smoke disappearing above his head. But he could swear that he saw something black and feathery inside the smoke.

He opened a scroll, and his eyes widened.

"Oh, son of a bitch."

* * *

><p>"What is the meaning of this, Itachi?" Naruto shouted in confusion. "Why do you attack Kakashi-sensei like that?"<p>

"If he's on the way, it will be much harder to capture you," Itachi answered, as if it was obvious.

'_**Naruto! Be careful!' **_Kurama warned him from inside his head. _**'I can feel killing intent coming from Itachi… Something is going wrong here!'**_

"You will not take Naruto-kun as long as I'm here!" Gai bellowed, jumping in front of Naruto, blocking him from Itachi's view. The Uchiha glanced back, and from behind him, Kisame walked up, grinning viciously.

Then without any warning, he rushed towards the two Konoha shinobi. Samehada was brought down mercilessly on Gai's head like a hammer in a very wild and fast swing, with the obvious intention of murdering him with one slash. But Gai was clearly not an amateur; with an incredibly quick movement, he pulled out his nunchaku from inside his ninja pouch and blocked the sword descending down his head. The two weapons collided, making an eerie echoing "clang".

"You…" Gai gritted his teeth. Kisame also bared his own fangs in another menacing grin.

"Sorry, but Itachi here has his own business against the Nine-Tails; you don't have the right to interrupt them."

Then he kicked Gai violently in the stomach. Being too close to his opponent, plus the giant sword holding both of his hands down, the taijutsu master couldn't defend himself against the kick, and was sent flying away from Naruto. Not letting his opponent recover a bit, the sharkman plunged towards the taijutsu master and continued to assault him relentlessly, pushing him even further and further away from the jinchuriki. Soon, the two shinobi disappeared around a corner, and the only thing allowing people to know they were there was the sound of their battle, which was now harder and harder to hear as the battle moved further and further away from where Itachi and Naruto were standing.

"Get out of the way, Itachi!" Naruto snarled. "Orochimaru's soul fragment is already on its way; if we don't stop it, Orochimaru will revive!"

"Orochimaru can be dealt with later, Naruto-kun," Itachi answered calmly. "You'd better worry about yourself, because… you're going back with me to the Akatsuki."

Then with a surprisingly fast Body Flicker, he appeared right in front of Naruto with a kunai on his hand, stabbing mercilessly at the boy's stomach. Only Naruto's reflex, which was enhanced greatly by the chakra cloak, helped him dodge the attack in time.

"This means you're not going to go quietly, huh," the Uchiha said quietly.

Naruto jumped back a few steps, then faced Itachi with a glare. In his face, there was a mixture of hurt, rage and disbelief.

* * *

><p>"What is… that?" Sasuke blinked, staring at the strange object which had just appeared on Suigetsu's hands.<p>

"Where did you get that thing, brat?" Asuma barked out, his eyes also focused on the object their enemy had just pulled out with a wary expression. "That is Shibuki, the 'Blastsword' of the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist! It has been lost for nearly half a decade with the swordsman Jinpachi Munashi! How did you find it?"

"Who knows?" Suigetsu shrugged. "It's Orochimaru who found it, not me. But since I already had a hold of it…"

He dashed forward, aiming at Sasuke, and the Uchiha tensed his muscles, ready to intercept the attack with his own sword. But a mere split second before the attack connected, his instinct suddenly screamed at him to dodge, as far as possible, if he still wanted to live, and trusting his mind, he shot chakra out of his feet, blasting himself back a few steps. And fortunately for him that he did, because right upon contact with the ground where he had been standing just a second ago, the exploding tags on the sword detonated with a loud "bang" as they left the sliding platform on the blade, shaking the walls of the base and sent Sasuke, even from a noticeable distance, stumbling to the ground.

"An… exploding sword?" the Uchiha sputtered, rolling on the ground a few times before finally managed to stand up properly. Suigetsu laughed gleefully.

"Exactly! And that's not even close to what this sword can really do! Blastsword Jutsu: Explosion Bind!"

Then he slashed into the air with the explosive tag platform. The scroll unfolded, and a large length of the explosive tag roll flew out like a dragon and wrapped itself around Sasuke, who was too shocked and surprised to do anything.

"And boom," he finished with a crazy smile.

The stripe of explosive tags detonated with another deafening boom, drowning the hall in smoke and fire.

"Heh," Suigetsu chuckled.

But then, his eyes widened when the smoke cleared, and 'Sasuke' turned out to be a substitution log. The real Uchiha was now being grabbed by the collar by Asuma, who had just jumped in to save him and pull him out of obvious death.

"And that's why you shouldn't charge in recklessly alone like that, Sasuke. You still have a lot to learn," the Sarutobi man glanced at Sasuke with a smile.

"You…" Suigetsu gritted his teeth, and lowered his stance, ready to charge again…

"Wait."

Suigetsu stopped dead on his way as Asuma raised his hand. "What?"

"From the way you move and fight, I dare guess you have some relations with Kirigakure and the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist," Asuma chuckled, drawing a puff on his cigarette. "Are you, by any chance, related to Mangetsu Houzuki?"

Suigetsu's eyes narrowed. "How did you know…?"

"Your purple eyes and white hair were a dead giveaway," Asuma shrugged. "Besides, only one look at that sword and you can see it's definitely not an easy weapon to wield without blowing yourself up. In recent days, there were only two known shinobi with the ability to wield it properly, which were Jinpachi Munashi, the one that this sword was lost with, and Mangetsu Houzuki, the member of the Seven Swordsmen who managed to master every of the seven swords."

"He is indeed my brother," Suigetsu scoffed. "But who cares about him? He's just a dead man who perished together with the Seven Swordsmen! Now I already have this sword with me, I will start my journey to bring the Seven Swordsmen back to their glory…"

"I see," Sasuke cut in. "But do you know that The Seven Swordsmen have already been brought back in Kirigakure by the Mizukage?"

Obviously Suigetsu didn't expect those words. "What did you say?"

"Indeed," Asuma nodded. "The Seven Swordsmen has been reestablished by the new Mizukage, Mei Terumi-sama, with Zabuza Momochi as the leader. So it means Orochimaru has kept that from you to ensure your loyalty to him?"

To the Konoha shinobi's surprise, Suigetsu shrugged.

"Nah. I just stayed in this base because I feared that snake would hunt me down if I tried to escape. Now that he's dead, and I already knew that information, what should I stay here for? I was planning to run away after killing you, anyway."

Kurenai blinked. "So that means…"

"Yeah," Suigetsu resealed Shibuki and scratched his head. "Though that old man Zabuza is somewhat annoying, he's still a great swordmaster; working under someone like him might not be that bad…"

Then he walked out of the hallway, across the Konoha shinobi to the exit of the base. Sasuke raised his katana, but Asuma stopped him.

"Don't, Sasuke. If he's going to join Kirigakure, he will soon be our ally. We wouldn't want to damage our political relationship, would we?"

Hearing those words, Suigetsu turned back. "Allies, huh? Then I'll tell you this. The escort force left from a secret exit at the other side of this base. But if you go this way," he pointed at another hallway branching from the main hallway, "you can get out of this base faster and can even catch up with them in a few hours if you run full speed. But…" he showed his toothy grin again, "…that's all I can do to help you. See ya! And make sure that snake bastard stay dead for me!"

Then he disappeared in a swirl of water (is that even possible?), leaving three baffled Konoha shinobi behind his back.

For a few seconds, no one could say anything. Then, Kurenai was the first one who managed to raise her voice.

"That boy was weird."

"He's just about my age, and yet he's already so strong…" Sasuke grimaced.

"Kirigakure shinobi are always trained intensively from when they're just children, Sasuke," Asuma chuckled, "especially ones chosen to be in the Seven Swordsmen. Besides, I wouldn't expect less from someone related to the Second Mizukage."

"What?" Sasuke asked, startled. "He's related to the Second Mizukage?!"

"You don't know?" Kurenai raised an eyebrow. "Gengetsu Houzuki, the Second Mizukage, was said to be the most powerful Mizukage in Kirigakure's history. I thought that was covered in the history class in the Academy?"

Sasuke grumbled. The truth is, he didn't hate history classes, but even he had to admit that it's the most boring class in the whole Academy curriculum.

Then again, who in this world could have _liked _learning history, anyway?

"Alright, you can think of catching up with him later," the voice of Kurenai brought him out of his stupor. "We have an Orochimaru to catch here, you know."

"Ah, right…"

* * *

><p>"Found 'em."<p>

Gaara removed his fingers from his eye and said. The truth is, the team didn't even need the notice from Sasuke's team. Right upon destroying the base, Gaara had realized there was something wrong when there had been almost no blood mixed into the sand. And they had departed to chase after the escort team before Sasuke's team knew that fact.

"They're about three miles from here to the south, and were moving with moderate speed," Gaara continued. "Considering the speed they're moving, we will need about an hour of running full speed to catch up with them."

It's worth mentioning that the meeting with Naruto had pushed some kind of button within Gaara. Since that day, the Sand jinchuriki had been training as hard as he could, and his abilities had all advanced in an unbelievable pace, which even his teacher and siblings, who had always thought of him as a genius, had to be utterly surprised.

That didn't make him any less threatening and dangerous in everyone's eyes, though, even when he's much nicer than ever before.

"Then let's go before they manage to go further!" Kankuro pumped his fist.

"Are you nuts?!" Temari complained. "We have been running like mad for almost two hours! And you expect me to run like that for another hour?!"

"But if we don't move fast, Orochimaru will get away!"

Surprisingly, this time, Gaara was the one who raised his voice. "Temari is right. Even if we managed to catch up with Orochimaru, if you two don't have enough strength to fight, you will just be a nuisance."

With Temari, Kankuro could argue, but with Gaara, there was no way he dared to. He slumped down in defeat.

"Ugh, fine! But if we fail this mission, it will be your responsibility!"

Gaara didn't retort. Instead, to the confused stares of his siblings, he reached into his tool pouch and pulled out… a calculator.

"What are you going to do with that?" Kankuro stared at the weird object in his brother's hand. And naturally, Gaara didn't answer him. He turned it on and started to tap the keys furiously.

"Three miles… this direction… the maximum time should only be about five seconds… and the shooting angle… it should be… about this speed… and this force… All right. Kankuro, Temari, stand back!"

"Wait," Temari's eyes widened. "What are you trying to… Aaaaaaahh!"

She and Kankuro were swept off their feet by the sudden gust of chakra exploding from Gaara's body.

"What… what the…" she stammered in fear. "Is Shukaku trying to escape? Gaara, you can't…"

'_Shukaku? Wanna help? After all, this is time for you to stretch your arms and legs a bit, right?'_

'_**Hmph! Now you ask me for help? Very well, but know that I don't help you because I like you or anything, human!'**_

From around Gaara, red chakra started gathering together with sand. It built up around his body, gradually forming the shape of Shukaku's head, which he stood within the mouth of. He stretched both his arms to the sides, then brought them together in front of him with a very fast and sudden movement.

And the mouth of the Shukaku's head snapped open. It fixed the angle and direction, and started inhaling.

No, saying "inhaling" was not enough to describe it. It was like all the air around the area was sucked in at once and gathered at a point in front of the artificial maw. In less than five seconds, a ball made fully of air was formed in between the maw, in front of Gaara's cupping hands.

And it started glowing and heating up intensely.

Gaara and the Shukaku head started rising to the sky. The ball of air in front of the mouth was glowing even more brightly, and was now starting to smoke dangerously, as if it was going to explode.

'_Shukaku, ready?' _

'_**Way ahead of you!' **_He could hear his Tailed Beast snort inside his head.

_Alright, then… let's do it!_

And, the voice of Gaara, mixed with a hint of Shukaku's tone, echoed through the air.

"WIND **STYLE: **AERO**BLAST!"**

And the sky split in half.

* * *

><p>"Faster! Faster! If we don't speed up, we won't make it to the base before midnight! We have to arrive at the base before that, or else Kabuto-sama will flay us alive!"<p>

"Geez, it's easy for you to say, capt', but even if you say so, we can't go any faster than thi— What the hell is that?!"

The captain looked back, and saw something which made everything in his body feel empty all at once.

A red beam of extremely compressed air, to the point it had already been plasmarized, surrounded by a violent vortex of wind was tearing across the sky towards them with a deafening sound, as if a sheet of paper the size of the South Base was being torn in half forcefully.

Everyone in the escort team of Otogakure couldn't help sharing the same thought.

_Fuck._

And things exploded.

* * *

><p>"There, that will slow them down a bit."<p>

Kankuro's eyes twitched. "A bit? A _bit_? You just nuked down nearly half of the forest! I doubt anyone could even be in one piece after that… that thing!"

He looked at Temari, and was startled when he saw her eyes shone brightly as if she had just seen an incredibly, impossibly cute puppy.

"Such a cool jutsu…" she murmured dreamily.

"Ugh…" the puppeteer facepalmed.

"Now that they're incapacitated, catching up with them is only a matter of time," Gaara cut in. "Let's go!"

"Why should we go over there anyway?" Temari asked. "I doubt anyone can survive that blast anyway."

"If we can't see the corpses, we can't be sure," Gaara answered curtly. "Now let's go; we don't have time to lose!"

A nod coming from Kankuro, and Temari knew she couldn't say anything else.

When the Sand shinobi arrived at the destruction scene, they saw something that stunned them.

"Of course…" Gaara muttered. "There is no way Orochimaru is that easy to kill…"

Otogakure shinobi's corpses littered the site of destruction. They were all eradicated within the explosion Gaara's jutsu had caused. However, at the center of the crater lay something that looked like a coffin protected by some kind of purple energy barrier. Protected by the barrier, the coffin was completely unharmed, even by such a powerful and destructive jutsu like Gaara's Aeroblast.

The barrier started fading away, and at the same time, the coffin exploded with a loud "bang", throwing the lid into the sky with a very thick cloud of smoke.

And from inside the coffin emerged a human figure.

"Damn it. So the soul merging process has completed already?" Temari gritted her teeth, and from inside the smoke cloud, a cruel, cold laughter echoed.

* * *

><p>"You have come back, Lord Kidomaru."<p>

The figure emerged from the coffin let out a cruel laugh.

"I'm not Kidomaru anymore. Right now, we…"

* * *

><p>"…are…"<p>

* * *

><p>"…Oro…"<p>

* * *

><p>"…chimaru."<p>

* * *

><p>"Wow, that's creepy," Kankuro said in disgust when the body of Tayuya, no, <em>Orochimaru <em>now, stuck out its tongue and licking its lips like a snake.

"The jinchuriki of the Sand…" Orochimaru in the girl's body sneered at the Sand siblings with a leer. "I see… Konoha doesn't have any intention to let me go quietly, hmm?"

"Of course they don't," Gaara answered calmly, his eyes met the slitted irises of Orochimaru with a determined gaze. "And not only Konoha…" he unwrapped the gourd on his back, which fell to the ground with a 'thud'. Upon touching the surface, it melted back into sand, "…even Sunagakure has a lot of things to say with you. For Sunagakure, for Konohagakure, for our alliance…" his hands curled into fists, "…I will send you back to hell, where you should stay and rot in."

He thrusted his hand forward, and sand surged up from the ground, rushing at Orochimaru like a tsunami.

* * *

><p>"So that's Orochimaru huh."<p>

Shikamaru whispered when a creepy creature with six arms emerged from the coffin.

Luckily for the young Nara's group, the Otogakure team escorting the soul fragment of Orochimaru hadn't left their base too far. Therefore, the Konoha shinobi could catch up with them in no time.

However, they were not fast enough to stop Orochimaru from reviving.

"What do we do now?" Hayate also whispered. "Our force isn't strong enough to take down this many shinobi, not to mention Orochimaru himself too!"

Then he turned to Shikamaru. "Shikamaru, you're the brain of our team, can you think of some strategy?"

Shikamaru bit his lips. "There are many usable strategies… but they all take some time to prepare. And who knows if they can do anything to Orochimaru himself?"

"Yeah, but before that, you two should look at this first."

Shikamaru and Hayate looked at the communication seal on Genma's hand. Their eyes widened.

"What…?"

Within the seal formula, there were only four words.

_Itachi. Ambush. Naruto. Danger._

* * *

><p>"Itachi ambushed Naruto?! How can it be possible?"<p>

Sasuke exclaimed in horror upon receiving the news.

The team was now rushing on their way toward the escorting team. Thanks to the shortcut Suigetsu showed them, they had caught up with the team in no time. Only a few minutes more and they would catch up.

But that's before the sudden bad news from Kakashi showed up.

Yeah, Kakashi was just that badass. Even before succumbing to the effect of Tsukuyomi, he had been fast and conscious enough to send the alerting message to every other team.

"We have to go assist Naruto immediately!" the Uchiha insisted, his feet had already stopped on their ways, ready to turn back to where his friend was fighting at.

"No!" Asuma said sharply. "Our mission is to go and kill the soul fragment of Orochimaru; if we stop now there will be no other chance to do it!"

"And let Naruto die on Itachi's hand?!" Sasuke shot back just as sharply. "Even Naruto cannot handle Itachi alone; if we don't go for him…"

"Kakashi and Gai will take care of him," Asuma met the angry gaze of Sasuke calmly. "They are all veteran shinobi; they will not be down that easily. Besides, if we don't take care of Orochimaru now, he will come back, and if he does, there will be many other innocent people dying, not only Naruto! Will you be able to hold responsibility if that happens, huh?"

"Grk…!"

Sasuke couldn't find any word to retort. It's not like he didn't know those facts, but… somehow, when he heard the name Itachi, even after he had known the truth about his brother, he just couldn't shake off a weird feeling inside his stomach.

What was it? Even Sasuke himself didn't know. Maybe some part of him still hadn't known what to think about his brother. And with Kakashi's word "ambush", he could sense danger inside it. Why ambushing Naruto, if not to do harm to him?

Or maybe some part of him just wanted to confront Itachi, his brother, to show him what he could do now, what he had become…

"Sasuke, if we want to go help Naruto, we have to finish our task fast first," the voice of Kurenai rose. "Orochimaru is right in front of us, if we attack immediately, they will be caught surprised and our chance to win will be much higher."

"And how are you planning to do that?" Sasuke said exasperatedly. "They outnumbered us like, twelve to one! And there's Orochimaru too!"

Kurenai only gave him a smile. "Oh, don't underestimate the power of genjutsu."

* * *

><p>Orochimaru in Sakon and Ukon's body stretched his arms and said in a satisfied tone. "Finally, I'm back in a body…"<p>

"W-welcome back, L-lord Orochimaru…" One of the escorters stammered. "W-we're really h-honored…"

Orochimaru sneered. "Oh, are you really?"

Snakes suddenly lashed out from under his sleeves, aiming at the shinobi's neck. Too surprised from the sudden attack, he could only scream out a gurgled noise when the snakes bit hard on his exposed neck before collapsing to the ground, dead.

Orochimaru retracted his hand and frowned. "Hmm, this is strange… Oh well, there's always time for me to get used to it…"

"GWAAAAAAAAAAHHH!"

Orochimaru's head snapped back towards where the scream emerged. And he saw his shinobi, one by one, collapsing to the ground, foaming at the mouth with spit and blood, definitely dead from something seemingly unseen. His body might not be the same, but his mind was definitely that of a veteran shinobi with the Legendary Sannin title. He immediately formed hand signs and dispelled the deadly genjutsu before it had any effect on him.

"Such a dangerous genjutsu of that scale…" he glared at something afar with a sneer. "Just what everyone can expect from the Genjutsu Mistress of Konoha, eh?"

"I'm flattered," Kurenai walked out from behind the tree with a smirk, flanked by Sasuke and Asuma. "But flattering won't save you from going back to hell today, Orochimaru."

Orochimaru licked his lips. "Oh, you even have Sasuke-kun with you, eh? This will be fun…"

"Get your head out of your ass, bastard!" Sasuke snapped angrily. "There is no way I let a molester like you get your hands on me!"

"Enough with that stupid accusation!" Orochimaru stomped his feet on the ground angrily. "You have ruined my reputation since you started that slandering campaign against me!"

"Wait, since when have you _had_ reputation?" Asuma asked curiously.

"Is this really the time to talk about this…?" Kurenai groaned and facepalmed.

* * *

><p>"Now what's the plan, Shikaku?"<p>

Shikaku nodded. "We have confirmed that Orochimaru's soul transferring process has completed. And in that room right now, there are five Oto shinobi, all of whom about chuunin level or higher. Plus, there is also Kabuto Yakushi in there with him."

"But that room is not very large," Inoichi glanced at the room they're hiding outside with a worried look. "If we use too much force there, it will alert the whole base. And we cannot deal with that many shinobi at the same time. Not to mention Orochimaru and Kabuto."

"That might be true," agreed Shikaku. "But first, as far as I know, I don't think Orochimaru can move well enough in that new body to even think of fighting. And because that room is small, the force in there is pretty thin. If we launch a sudden attack, our chance to win will be very high."

He looked up onto the roof. "The problem is, we will have to launch the attack with utmost precision and synchronization. Can we be sure we will do it?"

Choza grinned. "Since when has the Ino-Shika-Cho trio not acted with perfect precision and synchronization?"

Shikaku also smiled, and threw a kunai onto a block of stone on the roof. It lodged into a crack.

* * *

><p>"Welcome back, Orochimaru-sama."<p>

The Otogakure force inside the room turned back towards the newcomer all at once.

"Who are you?" Kabuto narrowed his eyes. "I didn't remember calling for you."

The new shinobi who had just come into the room bowed. "I'm sorry, sir. I shouldn't have barged in without any call from you first. After all…" he lifted his head up, his eyes gleamed, "…it won't be a surprise attack if you already knew about it, right?"

Then suddenly from under the shinobi's feet, tendrils of shadows lashed out and rushed toward the Oto shinobi like arrows. Only Orochimaru and Kabuto could notice them and jump away to dodge, but all the other shinobi were caught in the jutsu and were immediately impaled by multiple spikes of darkness spreading from the shadow tendrils. They collapsed to the ground, dead from hundreds of holes on their bodies.

"Shadow jutsu…" Kabuto muttered. "This must be…"

The newly entered Oto shinobi collapsed to the ground, and from behind him, a large shadow rolled out towards the remaining two people in the room with the power of a tank and the speed of a race car. Orochimaru and Kabuto could only avoid being flattened by rolling to the sides, and the spinning object slammed into the opposite wall with a "boom", drilling a very big hole on it.

"Orochimaru-sama!" Kabuto yelled, jumping towards Orochimaru, but another shadow suddenly jumped into the way between the two Oto shinobi, sending him back with a kick. At the same time, the giant human boulder, Choza Akimichi, changed its way and slammed into Orochimaru without any remorse. In such a small space, there was no way to dodge the technique… not with a new body he hadn't got a very good grasp at.

"The infamous Ino-Shika-Cho team huh…" Even the normally calm and seemingly cheerful Kabuto had to frown warily.

The person who had just delivered the sudden kick at Kabuto, Inoichi Yamanaka, grinned. "That's right. And by the way, you're captured."

Kabuto looked down, and his stomach twisted when he realized he was caught in the Shadow Possession Jutsu of Shikaku Nara.

When fighting alone, those shinobi, while still very capable, weren't that dangerous to someone like Kabuto or Orochimaru. But when they work together…

"You are too dangerous to let live, Kabuto Yakushi," the voice of Inoichi once again rose. "Mind Destruction Jut… Argh!"

Before Inoichi could finish his jutsu, he was kicked away by something from behind. He rolled on the ground, then managed to backflip onto his feet. And his eyes narrowed.

"Orochimaru… how did you survive that?"

It was Orochimaru who saved Kabuto's life. From under Choza's body, the face of Orochimaru's new body could clearly be seen crushed under half a ton of meat, but his body shedding technique had allowed him to escape the fate.

"Thanks for the assistance, Orochimaru-sama."

"How…" Inoichi gritted his teeth. "How did you move like that…? Your soul has just been transferred; there is no way you can adapt to that body that fast!"

"Kukukuku," Orochimaru's new body chuckled sinisterly. "That might be true, but… how about I let you figure it out for yourself?"

From his sleeves, dozens of snakes shot out, launching themselves at the Konoha ninja. But Choza, recovered from his failed attack attempt, reacted much faster than anyone could imagine from a big man like him. His hand, clad in thick steel gauntlet, inflated into giant size and with a single sweep, every snake was either sent back to Orochimaru and Kabuto, or crushed under the massive weight of the fist.

"Tsk…" Orochimaru clicked his tongue in annoyance.

"It's over, Orochimaru," Shikaku walked into the room. "I don't know how you could adapt to that new body so fast, but I doubt you're in any condition to fight all three of us now. And…"

He flicked a kunai backward, and suddenly the whole base started to rumble. The whole hallway behind him collapsed in a rain of rubble and debris, separating everyone inside the room from other Oto shinobi outside.

"There," he finished. "Now no one can save you anymore."

"So your great plan is to trap me and Kabuto inside this room, eh?" Orochimaru sneered. "You're indeed good, Shikaku Nara. As expect from the greatest strategist of Konohagakure."

"Then why don't you just give up and save us the effort of killing you?" Choza said with a victorious grin. Orochimaru just chuckled.

"Oh, sure, of course I know that; that's why…"

* * *

><p>"…I won't waste any time here!"<p>

And with those words, Orochimaru slammed his hand onto the ground. A giant puff of smoke, then a humongous snake appeared from thin air and lashed out at the three Sunagakure ninja. Not even flinching, Gaara thrust his hand forward. The wave of sand he summoned immediately stopped the giant reptile on its way.

_No… there is no way this is everything he has._

He immediately squeezed his hand, crushing the head of the snake with his Sand Burial right before his automatic protection, the gift from his mother, sprang up and stopped the Sword of Kusanagi from decapitating him.

"You surely adapted to your new body fast, huh," he said in his usual monotone voice while glaring at Orochimaru, who had just moved under the shadow of the snake through the detection of his sand to cut him down with the legendary sword.

With a very quick movement of his hand, the ground where Orochimaru was standing erupted into a column of sand around the Sannin, and quickly closing around him like a cage. But the Snake Sannin, true to his name, was just as flexible as a snake even in his new body; he whipped his body around, and with a round slash, the Sand Coffin forming around him was cut in half, allowing him a route to get away. He backflipped a few steps, distancing himself from the three Suna shinobi.

"Tsk…"

"So, are you ready to explain how you could move that well with that new body?" Gaara asked sharply. "Explain, or I will squeeze the answer out of you."

True to his words, he squeezed his hand in a threatening gesture.

Orochimaru cackled. "I don't know if you _can _force me to speak or not, but if you really want to know…"

* * *

><p>"It's true; it shouldn't have been possible for me to move and fight so effectively in this new body. Soul doesn't work like that, indeed."<p>

Kurenai's eyes narrowed. "Then how…?"

"Oh, but you forgot that the bodies I use are of my closest servants," Orochimaru chuckled menacingly. "Not only did they willingly give their bodies to me, they also offered to assimilate their souls into mine. Because of that, the soul within this body, and all the other bodies I have, not only is whole and completed, but also…"

The grin on his face spread even more disturbingly, "…everything in their memories, their jutsu, their kekkei genkai… is mine to use!"

The back of the shirt he was wearing suddenly tore itself apart, and from within it, another face poke out. It looked similar to the face of the body he was using, and when it was completely out, it leered at the three Konoha shinobi with a creepy grin. The face of Sakon's brother, Ukon.

In front of the three Konoha shinobi, the new body of Orochimaru started morphing in a grotesque way. The second head at the back of his head started writhing out of the shared neck, sprouting another neck holding it in process and turned to the front, and at the same time, the body started splitting in half at the junction of the two necks. From the split, meat started extruding out, forming two new body halves and two arms.

"Now let's see what you Konoha shinobi can do about this! Double Style: Grand Blazer!"

Sasuke's eyes widened. _What?!_

Two torrents of fire and wind chakra rushed out from the two mouths of Orochimaru, mixing together and forming a raging blast of scorching flame, aiming at the three Konoha shinobi. Thanks to the fast reaction, the three ninja managed to get out of the way in time, right before the searing flame swept through the place they had been standing just a moment ago and detonated, burning down a large chunk of the forest behind them in an instant.

"You see?" Orochimaru gloated in sadistic pleasure. "I haven't got complete control of this body yet, but the power and skills it possesses already belong to me!"

"That technique is just like the one that Kakuzu of the Akatsuki used," Sasuke muttered. "Although somehow it's much weaker…"

"Right," Asuma grinned, dropping his cigarette to the ground. "It means we still have a chance…"

* * *

><p><em>The size of this force is considerable… Fifteen shinobi, seemingly all chuunin or above, with the duty of scouting only… Following them, fifteen more, in the triangle formation, leading the force and protecting Orochimaru from the front. Left side and right side… nine each, all jonin… The flank, twenty... And there is Orochimaru too… There is no way we can attack without being completely devastated by them. <em>

Shikamaru's eyes snapped open. _There is only one way… but… _

"What's wrong, Shikamaru? Have you figured out the strategy?"

Shikamaru bit his lips and grimaced. "There IS one strategy… and I think it's the only one possible… but… no. It's too inhumane… it will require us to murder all those people… I… I really can't. Killing one or two people was bad enough already… Now if you want me to kill more than fifty people, most I don't even know, at once… No, I can't do it. It's massacre. Even if they're our enemies…"

Silence filled the air in five seconds. And at the sixth, Shikamaru felt Hayate's hand grasping his shoulder.

"I understand what you are saying, Shikamaru. But this is not the time for fear of killing or meaningless honor. If we don't do it now, Orochimaru will get away, gather his force, and more and more people will die under his hand. If that happens, will you be able to handle the responsibility?"

Shikamaru couldn't do anything else but turn away. Then, Genma walked up and said.

"If you are not ready for the killing, then you don't have to take part in it. Just tell us what to do, and we will do it for you."

Shikamaru didn't say anything for a while. Then, he closed his eyes and muttered.

"Fine. But if we want to use that strategy, we will have to run fast to get ahead of them first."

* * *

><p>The escort party of Orochimaru continued advancing in silence. After all, now that their boss was back, there was no reason for them to say anything anymore if they didn't want to be killed.<p>

Yes, Orochimaru is just that nasty. He likes to kill his subordinates, no, _servants _for no reason at all. Such a bastard.

Right now, they were walking in a deep canyon between two big cliffs. If they got past it, the Main Base of Otogakure would just be an hour away.

A chuunin suddenly snapped his head up and frowned.

"Hey, do you smell anything weird?"

"The only thing weird here is you, idiot," one of his fellow chuunin sneered. "Pay attention, damn it! Only a few steps more and we'll get through this damned canyon!"

Then he muttered. "I've never liked going into a canyon, anyway…"

Suddenly the earth rumbled loudly.

"What… what the hell is that?!" Another no-name chuunin yelled in panic.

"Stop panicking!" Orochimaru shouted. "Everyone, stay in place, keep your formation! This is just a minor earthquake…"

Right before Orochimaru could finish his sentences, very large boulders of every shape started rolling down the two cliffs. They bounced off the walls of the cliffs, making deafening crumbling noise and sending the whole Otogakure force into panic.

"So that's how you Konoha want to play, eh?" Orochimaru licked his lips in a grin. "Very well!"

He spat out his Sword of Kusanagi, and with only a flick of his hand, the blade lengthened and with a swing, it cut through all the boulders descending down their heads. The pieces fell to the ground with loud "thud"s, but not causing any harm to the Oto force.

"Ha!" An Oto jonin sneered. "That's all you Konoha fools could do?"

Then suddenly, all of the boulder fragments started to smoke at the same time. And Orochimaru's eyes widened when he saw all the explosive tags stuck onto them, which were starting to glow brightly.

"Son of a bitch! Run for your life!"

Too late. Two giant slabs of rock suddenly popped out from underground, blocking the two exits of the canyon when the first explosive tag detonated.

The whole mountain site shook. The gigantic explosion caused by hundreds of explosive tags, boosted by five years worth of gunpowder which Genma had set in discreet but vital parts of the cliffs, utterly destroyed the two cliffs and every single living thing trapped inside it. The terrified screams which were all stopped abruptly with the deafening "boom" of the explosion wrenched the hearts of everyone standing near there, which only consisted of the three Konoha shinobi.

As if that wasn't enough, the two cliffs collapsed, burying the remains of Orochimaru's new body and his minions into the ground… forever.

"No sign of life down there," Hayate announced after checking out the destroyed canyon with a quick sensing jutsu. "It seems the strategy was a success."

Shikamaru didn't say anything. He just turned away, and if anyone looked at his back right now, they could see it trembling uncontrollably.

Meanwhile, Genma was staring at the collapsed canyon with narrowed eyes.

_That's so strange... Is it supposed to be that easy?_

* * *

><p>"So now Orochimaru has access to the Shikotsumyaku kekkei genkai of Kimimaro Kaguya," Shikaku muttered. "This is gonna be troublesome…"<p>

"Of course it is, Nara," Orochimaru grinned nastily. "Shikotsumyaku is one of the most powerful kekkei genkai in this world, since the age of the Sage of Six Paths! Now let's see… how did he use it… ah, like this!"

He pointed his finger at the Nara patriarch, and a piece of bone shot out from the tip of his finger towards the man with the speed of a bullet. Only the quick reaction of a veteran shinobi could help him avoid being skewered in the head.

"Tsk, missed…" he clicked his tongue in annoyance.

_He could already use the kekkei genkai… _Shikaku thought warily. _But wait, there is something wrong here…_

Spark flashed through Shikaku's head. _If he really got mastery of the kekkei genkai, there is no way he would ask 'how did he use it' like that. And that technique, while dangerous, can no way be the full power of the kekkei genkai… That could only mean…_

He glanced around the room. _Okay, calm down, Shikaku… what can we use here?_

* * *

><p>Gaara suppressed the urge to launch a full frontal assault at Orochimaru with his sand as usual, like Shukaku was nagging in his head about. Instead, his eyes stayed firm on Orochimaru, searching for a weak point to deliver a decisive strike. New body or not, his opponent was still one of the Legendary Sannin, the one who murdered his father, the Fourth Kazekage, and if he made any wrong move, he might get himself and his sibling killed by the wicked snake.<p>

After all, it obviously showed how much Gaara had matured since the fated meeting with Naruto. Suffice to say, Gaara wasn't the omnicidal maniac whose mind was just hell bent on slaughtering and murdering mindlessly anymore. Now, he had friends, comrades, teammates with him, and although he still had the power, working together with his team made him stronger than ever.

He felt Temari unsheathing her fan, ready to attack. He raised his hand to stop her.

"Don't do anything. Not yet…"

"Oh?" Orochimaru sneered mockingly. "That's not like you at all, Gaara-kun. I thought you will immediately launch attacks at me in retaliation? I could have taken your head easily earlier; that's not enough for you to want to tear me apart? To feed my blood to Mother?"

Hearing those words almost made Gaara snarl. "I'm not like that anymore."

"Oh, really?" Orochimaru laughed. "Even with only a glance, I could tell that the monster inside you is very eager to take my life. Just look at the sand bubbling at your feet. Admit it; your bloodlust is rising again inside you. Those days without murdering makes you crazy, do they?"

"You…"

All the terrifying memories, the sight of all the bloody murders he had committed flashed across his eyes. Why did that bastard make him remember about them now? He had wanted to forget them, to start a new life, to regain the trust of everyone…

'_**Don't listen to him, Gaara-kun.'**_

Gaara's eyes widened. _'Mother?! Is that you?'_

'_**Of course it's me, dear,' **_the voice of Karura echoed in his head. _**'Don't let what that monster said get into your head. Haven't you already made up your mind? What you need to do is not trying to forget what happened, but accepting it and trying to atone for it. You don't have to fear him for those words, because what you have chosen was already the right thing.'**_

Gaara closed his eyes in silence. And then, when he opened them again, they didn't have the raging, full-of-hatred expression from before, but instead, a calm and accepting serene.

"You're not quite wrong, Orochimaru," he said. "I still remember that time when I murdered people as a proof of my existence. And it's no use trying to deny it. And I also know it's not easy for people to forgive me about what I have done. But that doesn't mean…" he raised his hand, and Orochimaru unconsciously took a step back, "…that I can't do anything within my ability to start making amends for it!"

And to everybody's surprise, the ground below them started cracking apart. Sand, grains of dirt, debris, everything within the earth began to rise and flying around Gaara, as if a tornado was spinning madly around him and his siblings.

"No way…" Temari mouthed. "I know Gaara is strong, but… since when has he become _this _strong?"

"This is Gaara's Magnet Style… at full power!" Kankuro also exclaimed in awe.

"Temari, Kankuro," the commanding voice of Gaara echoed through the air. "Get ready, because we – the Sand Siblings – will work together to send Orochimaru back to where he deserves to be!"

* * *

><p>The Sharingan of Sasuke bore into the grotesque form of Sakon and Ukon's body in front of him, not leaving for one second.<p>

Orochimaru licked his lips. "Such a deadly glare, Sasuke-kun… You really are worthy of being my new body…"

"Why do you want me so much?" Sasuke gritted his teeth. "If you want the Sharingan, why not going for Kakashi? He also has the Sharingan…"

To the three Konoha ninja's surprise, Orochimaru burst out laughing.

"Oh, you really think the Sharingan is the only thing I'm after? So naïve. No, I don't simply want the Sharingan; what I'm aiming for is the body of an Uchiha with the Sharingan!"

"What…?"

Then Sasuke remembered. "Does that have anything to do with it? 'The power that surpasses even the Mangekyo Sharingan?' Are you trying to get it by taking my body?"

Orochimaru chuckled. "So you already knew about it? That's right; the Uchiha clan has a secret that even most of the members don't know: the final evolution a Sharingan can achieve is not the Mangekyo Sharingan, but another legendary doujutsu which was even more terrifying: the Rinnegan!"

"Rinne…"

"…gan?!"

Sasuke raised an eyebrow at Kurenai and Asuma's startled exclamation. "Rinnegan? What the hell is a Rinnegan anyway?"

"The Rinnegan is the legendary doujutsu which is rumored to have been wielded by the Sage of Six Paths, the progenitor of shinobi," Asuma explained. "But it's just a rumor; there is no proof about those eyes, or whether the Sage even existed in this world or not."

"Oh, I'm sure the Sage of Six Paths existed in history, Sarutobi, and he was indeed the only wielder of the legendary Rinnegan," Orochimaru cackled madly. "And just so you know, the original founder of the Uchiha clan was the very first son of the Sage, who inherited the powerful doujutsu from him… and that's the beginning of the Uchiha clan, with their infamous Sharingan. And now… I'm the only one with a way to awaken that tremendous power," he pressed at the word "only" with a gleeful smirk.

"What is the way to awaken it?!" Sasuke snarled, pointing his katana at the mutated man in front of him. Orochimaru just chuckled.

"Oh, Sasuke-kun… Why should I tell you about that? If you really want to know…" the two heads licked their lips like a creepy two-headed snake, "…the only way is to force me to tell you. Or even better… join me. Become mine, Sasuke-kun, and you will gain powers no one in Konoha can ever give you."

"I will join you when hell freezes over!" Sasuke screamed, and lowering down his katana in a thrust, he charged at Orochimaru, Sharingan blazing furiously. Orochimaru cackled in glee.

"Good, good! Let's see what the Last Loyal Uchiha has to show me!"

* * *

><p>"Why…" Naruto gritted his teeth. "Why do you have to do this, Itachi?! Is the Akatsuki's plan that important to you? You can betray what you always believe in like that?"<p>

"You're not in the position to tell me what I believe in, Naruto-kun," Itachi answered calmly, his Mangekyo Sharingan drilled into Naruto's eyes with such a great pressure that Naruto unconsciously took a step back.

Despite that, Naruto still refused to back down. "Despite what you did, your heart is still with Konoha! That massacre was just because the Uchiha clan decided to betray the village!"

Itachi's eyes narrowed. "How did you know that?"

"We figured it out!" Naruto said impatiently. "But why?! I understand you want to save the honor of your clan, but... this is just wrong! You don't deserve to be banished and hunted like a missing-nin!"

"You're quite smart for someone of your age, Naruto-kun," Finally, after a few seconds of silence, Itachi admitted. "However… there are things in the world a little brat like you can never hope to understand."

Then without warning, Itachi flicked his hand, and a kunai flew out of his sleeve towards Naruto with a speed and force the jinchuriki couldn't even expect from a throwing weapon, aiming at his stomach. And to Naruto's surprise and horror, the throwing knife pierced through the chakra shroud and lodged into his body.

"What…?"

"These weapons are made specially to combat jinchuriki," Itachi explained in his usual monotone voice. "Your chakra armor is indeed very powerful, but against these, it is just a child's toy."

Naruto grunted in pain. He could feel his blood dripping out from the wound on his stomach, rolling down the chakra cloak onto the ground. Never before had he felt so disappointed, so angry, so… betrayed.

He grabbed the handle of the kunai and pulled hard. It came out of his stomach with a "squelch", and the wound immediately healed up by the power of Kurama within him.

"If you really want to capture me that badly…" he snarled, "…then come, but I will never let myself be captured without breaking a few of your bones first!"

* * *

><p><strong>Definition<strong>

**Double Style: Grand Blazer**

**Classification: Collaboration Ninjutsu**

**Rank: A**

**Class: Offensive**

**Range: Mid-range**

**A ninjutsu Orochimaru can use after acquiring the body of Sakon and Ukon, utilizing the kekkei genkai of the twin to fire two blasts of wind and fire element from each body, which mix together into a strong, scorching blast. Nothing else is known about this technique, except it lacks power comparing to what Kakuzu of the Akatsuki can do.**

**Wind Style: Aeroblast**

**Classification: Ninjutsu**

**Rank: A++**

**Class: Offensive**

**Range: Mid to Long-range**

**A ninjutsu Gaara developed with the (grudging) help from Shukaku during his months of training after the Konoha Invasion. Utilizing the powerful Wind chakra of the Tailed Beast, the user gathers air from around him into a very compressed ball right in front of him, not unlike Naruto's Rasengan, but completely made of air. When the air is compressed into a certain density, the user will "poke" a hole at the other side of the ball with his chakra, and the compressed air will rush out from the opened hole and damage the enemy. The more compressed the air is, the more power and range the technique will have. Gaara tends to pressurize the air until it turns into a plasma-like form with extreme heat and shoot it out as a beam surrounded by vortexes of air. It is rumored that Gaara created this technique after watching a movie about something called "the Guardian of the Sea".**

* * *

><p><strong>Okay, I'm really sorry about this chapter being soooo late. It's just, Ultimate Ninja Storm 4 is such a good game, and a very great research material too ^^<strong>

**Orochimaru has proven his genre savvy when leaving his bases right after his "awakening", not sitting there waiting for Konoha to come to kill his asses off when he's not ready. (It didn't stop Konoha from tracking him down to finish the job, though, but at least he still had the time to get ready before they could get to him.)**

**A new ally has appeared... although he didn't help much. (Then again, he is Suigetsu, so...)**

**And a sudden twist! I bet no one could expect Itachi suddenly appearing like that, huh?**

**What will happen when Naruto has to face Itachi all alone, while the other teams battles bodies of Orochimaru? Find out in the next chapter of Once More!**


End file.
